


Crisis Point

by XenArgon



Series: Scourge of the Corruptor [2]
Category: Metroid Series, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Abusive Relationships, Artifacts of the Primes, Chozo magic, Conjunx Endura, Corruption, Drug Addiction, Mech Preg (Transformers), Multi, Past Relationship(s), Permanent Injury, Post-War, Space Battles, Transformer Sparklings, shit gets real, why do I keep doing this
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2019-10-07 09:16:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 10
Words: 34,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17363267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XenArgon/pseuds/XenArgon
Summary: Just when it seemed as though the decepticons had found peace on Aether, Dark Samus returns with a new, unexpected plan.I write in phases, so I may go quite a while without posting.





	1. Reconciliation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I've been steadily, and quite incrementally, working on this one chapter, as well as plot details that still need to be settled. It might be a while before there's another chapter. In truth, I just wanted to get this new work entry set up with all the right tags and whatnot.

Megatron sat near a window looking out into Torvus Bog, watching as a light rain fell on the forest despite remaining in direct sunlight. Water droplets acted as prisms, sparkling in the sun, adorning the leaves like shimmering crystals, and the gladiator took a drink of the high grade sitting on a table beside him, going so far as to put his feet up on a small crate in front of him.

He hadn't been too fond of the Alterium's resting place at first, given that the humidity was incredibly irritating for everyone, but it was not too difficult for Knockout to make a few simple dehumidifiers, which of course he did out of concern for his own wellbeing, and Megatron could definitely not argue with the picturesque surroundings... at least while he stayed inside. How Shockwave managed to go on his almost daily excursions out in the rain was baffling.

Nonetheless, due to the coincidentally nice view the windows from the cargo hold had, the space had been turned into something of a lounge in the time since the decepticons landed so long ago. For a while it had been a makeshift setup created entirely out of storage crates, but eventually a few of the vehicons had taken to making some real furniture, and so the space became a common area of sorts. At present, however, Megatron was its only occupant.

He took another sip of high grade, briefly wondering if Soundwave would think this was too early to be drinking... Not that it would make any difference.

 

He heard as the door opened behind him and someone walked toward him, but he didn't bother to look back. Without a word, Ratchet sat down in the chair beside Megatron, immediately looking toward the bottle of high grade, pouring himself a glass as he muttered quietly.

"You started without me."

"You were late," the gladiator replied, staring out at the rain as it subsided into a light drizzle. Just as Ratchet started drinking the entirety of his glass of high grade in a single motion, Megatron looked back toward him.

"So?"

The autobot took a moment to finish his drink before setting down his glass with emphasis and responding.

"Bioweapons."

The gladiator smiled.

"Oh?"

Ratchet let out a sigh upon seeing this reaction, rolling his eyes somewhat.

"I can see how well  _ this _ is going to go."

"I'm just surprised you'd want to go there."

Ratchet already started pouring himself another glass of high grade, shaking his head somewhat as he replied.

"It was going to come up sooner or later."

Megatron glanced at the amount of high grade that remained in the bottle, looking toward Ratchet with displeasure.

"... I only have so much of that, you know."

The autobot leaned back in his chair somewhat, setting his glass on the table between them.

"Why else is it here, then?"

The air was silent for a few moments, until finally, Megatron turned his head to glance toward Ratchet.

"So. Bioweapons. I can only assume you are opposed to them?"

"Naturally. I've been trying to think of some case where I would support their use, but I can't. However..."

The autobot took a drink before continuing.

"I accept that I'm probably biased. I'm a medic, so I feel like bioweapons are a... savage misuse of medical technology. And I won't even get into the long term, widespread ecological impacts..."

Megatron smiled as he replied.

"Because those reasons are uninteresting. Although I would like to point out that clearly Shockwave finds bioweaponry to be... logical... even despite having exactly the same reasons as you to potentially disavow their use."

Ratchet sneered in response as he stared outside.

"Well, Shockwave is a bit of a psychopath, so he's definitely not in the position to be making moral judgements."

Megatron stared outside, taking a deep breath before speaking.

"I do not consider bioweapons to be a... normal tool of warfare. They hold the potential to backfire, and so I have only approved their use in... particularly dire scenarios."

Ratchet glanced over at the gladiator, his tone growing accusatory, almost taunting.

"And why not? After all, if you're going to kill people, why not start with bioweapons?"

"The purpose of my war was never solely to kill. I only wanted to cause as much destruction as it took for the autobots to concede."

"Oh? Then what were you talking about the other day when you said that resigning to war automatically meant resigning to... how did you put it? 'Any measures necessary?'"

"Resigning to war necessarily means that you have surrendered civility, was how I put it."

Megatron took a drink of high grade briefly, looking back toward Ratchet with a hint of a smile on his face as he spoke.

"There are more forms of destruction than killing alone. Some of those methods can be more effective at turning the tide of war."

_ "Well," _ Ratchet spat, "since you're clearly such a  _ benevolent _ warlord-"

The name caused Megatron's aura to flare with a mixture of both amusement as well as disgust. He stared at the autobot with his somehow condescending smile, though he waited patiently as Ratchet continued.

"-Then why  _ did  _ you use bioweapons? It's not like we'd backed you into a corner. There weren't even any autobots in your territory when the plague started. I don't see how that's a 'particularly dire scenario.'"

"If my memory serves," Megatron said, his eyes practically boring into Ratchet's spark, "we were considering the long-term loss of resources. The plague was an effective, and efficient way of not only curtailing a possible autobot strike with little resources, but also to impact territories further away from the front lines than we would normally be able to reach."

"That didn't answer my question. I asked how that counts as reserving bioweapons for dire scenarios."

"We were at risk of losing the Polyhex energon mine, which would have severely disadvantaged us."

"So  _ that's _ how you define dire scenarios then? Possibly losing some energon? And that makes it okay to unleash a  _ plague!?" _

Just as Ratchet's aura grew increasingly aggravated, so too did the gladiator's expression turn from one of amusement to one of anger. Nonetheless, he remained outwardly calm, taking another drink of high grade before glancing back at the autobot.

"Unlike you, Ratchet, my sense of morality is... fluid. I wouldn't definitively say that anything is completely right or completely wrong. That's usually where I defer to Shockwave's method of focusing on what's logical or practical, rather than moral. I can't say that creating the plague when we did was entirely moral, but I  _ can _ say that it was entirely logical."

" _ That's _ just cognitive dissonance. You just want to  _ say  _ you have morals, but you're allowed to break your own rules as long as it's practical."

Megatron did not seem to take this accusation well, gesturing to the autobot as the components in his fingers clicked slightly.

"Then explain to me why, when Optimus was infected, you were willing to break your own moral code decrying the cortical psychic patch as a 'savage instrument of mental torture' in order to steal the antidote formula from me?"

"Pfft, well, obviously because it was you in question."

Megatron smiled ever so slightly, the tone of his voice growing ever so slightly accusatory.

"So, if autobot morals do not apply to me, why has my life been spared so many times?"

The autobot glanced away as he took a sip of high grade, replying a bit more quietly than before.

"Well... to be clear, I actually disagreed with Optimus on that..."

_ "Exactly  _ my point. Doing something moral is not always logical, nor is doing something logical always moral."

"No, but you can't just break your own moral code just because it's practical."

Megatron replied without any hesitation.

"I vividly recall Smokescreen using the spark extractor on my troops, despite such devices  _ also _ having been allegedly banned by autobots."

Ratchet sat forward slightly, his tone growing fierce.

"Cybertron was at stake! You were going to use the Omega Lock!"

"Is that what it takes for you to bend your own rules? The fate of Cybertron?"

"Cybertron is worth that much."

Megatron smiled, his aura growing calm.

"Then it seems you and I are not so different after all. I find it... strange, yet notable, how two worldviews held by opposing factions disagreed on everything, and yet the motivation for both was exactly the same. We  _ all  _ wanted a better Cybertron."

Ratchet stared out the window, going quiet for a minute before finally responding.

"And for that matter, most everyone I knew... we all wanted the  _ same  _ better Cybertron. Except for-"

"-The Council. I personally knew a few others who would have wanted to keep the caste system in place, but needless to say... they're not around anymore."

The door opened behind them, and Megatron looked back, finding the small white form of Aftershock hugging the door frame, hesitantly yet curiously looking inside. He held out a hand, gesturing for her to approach.

"Ah, Aftershock, come here."

Ratchet had little reaction as the scorpling, having received permission, darted eagerly across the room toward Megatron, where he then proceeded to lift her up into his lap, wrapping one arm around her in something of a passive embrace. The gladiator's aura turned slightly more delighted than he meant it to, prompting Ratchet to glance over at him.

"Well, now it doesn't seem right to keep talking about bioengineered plagues."

Aftershock looked up at Megatron in response, her antennae perking upright.

"What's a plague?"

The gladiator stared at Ratchet for a moment, laughing quietly as he shook his head.

"I can already see the years we'll spend arguing over the 'correct' version of history to be teaching her."

The autobot let out an exasperated sigh, looking away.

_ "Primus  _ that sounds awful."

Aftershock leaned forward, draping herself awkwardly over Megatron's arm, letting both of hers dangle forward. After a moment, she moved to bury her face into his elbow, proceeding to gnaw on one metal panel that protruded out slightly. Megatron let out a sigh, rolling his eyes slightly as he grabbed Aftershock's head in his other hand and pulled it away from his arm.

"You need to stop doing that."

The scorpling giggled as she flopped back, instead lying across him, resting her head on his other arm and looking up at him.

" _ You _ stop it!"

"Listen, only scraplets bite people."

Aftershock merely laughed quietly in response, tilting her head back to look at Ratchet upside down. The autobot met her gaze for a moment, then turned away to take another sip of high grade, staring out the window with a forlorn gaze.

"Why did it take so long?" he muttered. "How did we stay at war for so long?"

Aftershock reached her arms out toward Ratchet.

"You did!" she shouted.

Even though Megatron idly grabbed onto the scorpling's tail, prompting her to frantically reach for it, giggling furiously, the gladiator also stared off into the distance with a troubled expression. As Aftershock finally pulled herself away and ran over toward the window, Megatron glanced down at his hands, which started to shake slightly as he spoke.

"I was so full of revenge, at least until..."

The autobot, while he didn't look at Megatron, radiated a strange aura, a mixture of anger and sympathy. When he spoke, he was quiet, yet deliberate.

"You... deserved  _ everything _ you got."

The gladiator froze, his eyes widening slightly as he stared off into the distance. The world started to fade away, quickly being devoured by the corner of his mind that still sought to control him. All he saw in that moment was darkness, shrouding the world from him as though he did not deserve to see it. Everything faded as it was ripped from his awareness, and he was left silent, paralyzed, trembling, helpless against the shadows of Unicron that still lingered in his mind. Even though they had not come close to fully controlling him in years, they still tormented him, clawing at his conscience, screaming at him from the depths, their voices only whispers compared to Unicron's, yet they still echoed the thundering voice of a vengeful god, and he once again started to feel the inescapable agony they wrought. Desperately he clutched at his head, somehow hoping he could just reach in and pull them out.

_ You are nothing _ , they screamed, sounding like death incarnate.  _ Nothing but a tool. _ The space around him felt like it started to collapse, stabbing him with shards of rage.

How could one even describe the kind of pain that resulted from your mind being ripped out of your own body? It wasn't any kind of pain one could become desensitized to. After all, Megatron had suffered all manner of various injuries throughout his life, but they were nothing compared to the torture the destroyer had inflicted upon him. Only that... had been agonizing enough to lead him to beg for death.

 

He felt a hand on his shoulder, and a small ray of awareness shone through the darkness, forcing the shadows to part. They began to melt away, and the world started to return. As the momentary nightmare subsided, Megatron started to relax slightly, finally letting go of his head and opening his eyes, where he found Ratchet standing beside him, having been the one to nudge him back to sanity. He winced in pain for a moment as he stared at his hands, fingers unfurling from violently clenched fists. He noticed Aftershock sitting on the floor in front of him, staring at him with wide, unblinking purple eyes, her aura both fearful and curious. Briefly he glanced toward the autobot standing next to him, then looked back as he already started massaging his aching hands. Ratchet clearly didn't want to say anything either. After a moment, however, the gladiator finally spoke.

"So... this is what I deserve, then?"

Ratchet let out a sigh as he buried his face in one hand.

"No, that's not what I... ugh. I only meant that you're... different now, as a result. And if that wasn't the case... we'd still be at war."

Aftershock finally moved, though she still kept her gaze locked on Megatron as she stood up, inching toward him hesitantly, before stepping up to his leg and hugging it. In response, he reached down to caress her head in one hand.

Just as Ratchet returned to his chair, Megatron hesitantly glanced over at him, forcing himself to speak.

"... Thank you for that."

The autobot didn't return the stare, but he did reply.

"It was my fault, so... sorry."

 

While Ratchet and Megatron would never consider the other a friend, such debates had become common over the three years that had passed since they landed on Aether. Even when discussions boiled over into arguments, they still seemed cathartic, since it was certainly much better to argue over morals than to fight and die over them, and it seemed as though it allowed them to start to come to terms with the past.

As such, Ratchet especially had started to put the war behind him, considering he could see firsthand how Megatron had changed. It was as though Unicron had crushed some part of his spirit, or torn out all vengeance and rage from his core. The autobot had been there to witness the full effects of what it had done to the gladiator. He'd seen Megatron in his catatonic state, unresponsive for days on end, seemingly lost in his own mind with the exception of brief, partial remissions during which he would only acknowledge others with eye contact.

Ratchet had only taken Soundwave's offer to join the decepticons out of desperation, and only because he did not know Megatron was still there. In fact, if he had been granted the opportunity to kill the gladiator right then, he probably would have done it. However, seeing the full extent of Megatron's psychological damage had actually instilled a surprising amount of sympathy in him, and now he felt as though the gladiator had finally paid the price for his crimes.

It was only through the complete destruction of Megatron's mind that the war had finally come to an end, and he had emerged as a person worthy of respect. And Ratchet, for one, was willing to accept that, even though he would never forgive some of the things the decepticons had done in the past.

 

The room was silent for some time as Megatron and Ratchet both stared out through the window. But finally, the door opened, and Starscream stepped in. As he walked, hands held behind him, narrowed eyes scanning the room, he glanced between the figures in the room and the half-empty bottle of high grade, and laughed briefly before stepping over toward Megatron, standing behind his chair and resting his hands on the gladiator's shoulders.

"Another debate, hmm?"

Upon hearing Starscream's voice, Aftershock, who had been practically glued to the picture window in front of her, turned to look at the seeker.

"Starscream!" she exclaimed. The seeker's response, excluding his attempt at massaging Megatron's shoulders, was to merely glance toward the child, one eye narrowing.

"What?" he finally asked. As though this took some inordinate amount of processing power, Aftershock looked away as though in thought, pulling her tail around her so she could grab it in both hands and gnaw on it. Considering that now, all three of the other mechs in the room were staring at her, she finally started giggling again as she darted across the room, running back toward the door when it opened once more, revealing Soundwave on the other side. The silent mech, without moving, reached over toward Aftershock with his cables, grabbing her and pulling her up into his embrace. Despite how quickly he'd reacted, Soundwave hadn't expected to find the scorpling there, and so he looked back toward the others in the room, delighted but slightly confused as Aftershock held onto him and buried her face in his shoulder.

[There is a ship approaching Aether. The luminoth cannot identify it.]

Megatron and Starscream's expressions both turned solemn in an instant, and the gladiator stood up to face Soundwave.

"So it's not a space pirate vessel?"

[No. I believe it's cybertronian, but I can't determine if it's autobot or decepticon.]

Megatron turned to look down toward Ratchet.

"You didn't call anyone here, did you?"

"I've kept in contact with them, but no."

He turned back to Soundwave, and Starscream lingered beside him.

"How long until it arrives?"

[About two hours.]

The gladiator went silent, seeming to think for a moment. After a minute of him staring blankly into space, however, Starscream glanced at Megatron, finally nudging him. The gladiator seemed to snap out of whatever trance he'd been in, glancing between the other occupants of the room before speaking again.

"I suppose we can only wait and see whose ship it is. Send out the decepticon beacon."

Soundwave gave a silent nod of acknowledgement, and Megatron turned to leave the room. Once the door shut, Starscream's attention turned toward Ratchet instead, and he watched as the autobot poured himself more high grade.

"What was the debate about?" the seeker asked.

"Bioweapons."

Starscream let out a short laugh, but remained silent otherwise. After a moment, he glanced toward Soundwave.

"... What?"

Without a word, Soundwave turned and left.

 

As the mysterious ship approached the planet, several things became evident that had not been obvious before due to its distance. It was, indeed, a cybertronian ship. Considering that it had to have received the decepticon beacon, but had never responded, it was most likely an autobot vessel. And finally, the difficulty in locating it at any given time showed that the craft was quite small, capable of carrying a few people at most. These facts eased some of the fears lingering amongst many of the decepticons that autobots were coming to attack them. However, without knowing for certain who was coming, the air within the Alterium had grown heavy with anxiety nonetheless. But Soundwave had watched the ship approach, as had the luminoth satellites, and tracked its motion as it steadily encroached upon Aether, falling through the sky in a plume of fire toward the grasslands between Agon and Torvus.

Once this happened, Soundwave and Shockwave departed toward the underused groundbridge room, joined, of course, by Ratchet.

 

As the three finally set foot on the other side of the portal, a strong gust of wind swayed the tall grasses, and similarly suppressed the small flames that leaked from the tattered hull of a wrecker's ship. Within moments, Ratchet's eyes widened, and he ran toward the craft.

"Wheeljack!"

The decepticons followed him as he rushed toward the hatch, finding smoke billowing from it. Just as the medic was about to rush inside, a hand reached out from the smoke, grabbing the frame of the door. Wheeljack stumbled out after a moment, coughing heavily, one hand covering his eyes. Upon finding the air clear outside, he slowly opened his eyes, first meeting Ratchet's gaze, then glancing over at Soundwave and Shockwave.

"Wait, what?" he muttered.

Just then, a loud metallic sound echoed from the ship, and Arcee came stumbling out just as Wheeljack had. Just as she started to fall to the ground, Ratchet managed to catch her, holding onto her arms as she regained her footing, and looked up at him. Like Wheeljack, she seemed confused for a moment, but her eyes lit up, and she just barely smiled as she got back to her feet.

"What's with the welcoming party?"

Shockwave stepped toward them as he spoke.

"We need to ascertain whether or not you pose a threat to the decepticons."

"No," Wheeljack replied, "not this time around. I never wanted to stay in Iacon."

Arcee continued in step.

"I finally got fed up with it. I'd thought that maybe it would get better once things settled down and more people showed up, but... the council has control over  _ every _ thing. And now they're trying to... pretty much erase any evidence that the decepticons ever existed."

Ratchet seemed dismayed by this, letting out a sigh.

"What about Bulkhead?"

Wheeljack crossed his arms.

"Bulk doesn't seem to mind. He did say that Iacon's far from perfect, but I think he's... actually happy to just have a home, even if it means working under the council."

"I... can understand that. I imagine that's the only thing giving the council any power."

After a moment, Ratchet looked back at the burning ship.

"So... what happened?"

"Oh. That. There was a lot of electrical interference on the way down. It kinda... fragged up the controls."

Again, Shockwave interjected, Soundwave lingering silently beside him.

"This planet's atmosphere is rife with electrical storms. We might be able to retrofit your ship to withstand them."

The wrecker glared at him in response.

"Nobody touches the Jackhammer but me."

"... Very well."

With that, Wheeljack stepped toward his ship, walking around and briefly inspecting it as the flames finally died down. Arcee, on the other hand, looked toward Soundwave and Shockwave.

"So why'd you guys pick this place?"

The decepticons glanced at each other for a moment, and Soundwave finally spoke.

[In short, we crashed here, and then decided to stay.]

"The slightly longer version," Shockwave continued, "is that we were attacked. I crashed here, and the native population helped to save my life and return me to the ship. Then we destroyed a meteor to protect this planet, were attacked again, and crashed here."

[Then we decided to stay.]

"Wait," Arcee said, "there are natives here?"

"The Luminoth," Ratchet replied. "We know  _ of _ other races, but the luminoth are a bit isolationist. We only saw the space pirates because they were the ones who attacked us."

"So... you really found a home here, huh?"

In response, Ratchet's aura grew warm, almost delighted, and he couldn't help but smile ever so slightly.

Wheeljack, having examined his ship, walked back toward the others, his aura silent.

"It needs a lot of repairs, but it's nothing I can't fix. It'll take time, though."

Arcee crossed her arms as she glanced up at him.

"So, we're stuck here?"

Wheeljack was silent for a moment, staring at Soundwave and Shockwave before speaking.

"Yeah. I guess we are."

The scientist replied quietly, returning the wrecker's unnerving stare.

"I believe you will find the decepticons more inviting than in previous encounters."

"I hope so... cause it might be a while."

With that, a groundbridge portal opened behind Soundwave, and the decepticons stepped through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, that beginning wasn't what you expected, huh? I didn't expect it either. I'd started writing an intro a while ago, but I was having to pour in so much exposition that it was getting bogged down, so I restarted with this.  
> Why is it that the ships that make the most sense to me are the least common?


	2. Tranquil

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Starscream's section, though I start playing this as soon as Arcee sees Shockwave - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x98xVl6c6k
> 
> Also if you haven't seen this already, I drew Aftershock: http://xenargon.tumblr.com/post/181171312019/this-is-aftershock-my-original-transformer  
> (If you have seen it already I'm sorry for the spam.)
> 
> Keep in mind that she's currently younger in this story so far than she is in the drawing. I don't know what her age, in comparison to human kids, is supposed to be, because I don't like or have much experience with human kids.

For a while, the autobots stuck together as Ratchet showed them around the Alterium, and eventually brought them out to the Temple Grounds. Vehicons stared at them rather frequently, but didn't bother to interact with them. However, as the three lingered next to one of the cliff edges, Starscream soon wandered up to them, remaining silent while Arcee spoke.

"-it wasn't even that far, so I just told him I'd drive over there, right? But I had no idea that the bridge collapsed that day, so it took me a whole hour to drive all the way around."

The autobots all turned their attention toward the seeker as he approached, but Ratchet spoke first.

"What do you want?"

Starscream snickered, but he maintained his curious posture.

"Aren't you charming..."

The medic's tone turned slightly defensive as he stared toward the seeker.

"I don't have to pretend to like you."

Wheeljack smirked toward Ratchet as he spoke.

"What, so you just pretend to like us?"

The medic glanced back at him with an equal amount of amusement.

"Oh, you just now noticed?"

"Nice to see you haven't changed, doc."

With that, Ratchet glanced back toward Starscream.

"So what _do_ you want?"

"I know it may be difficult for you to comprehend, but there are people who actually thrive on, and so seek out, social interaction."

"Yeah," Arcee replied, "I don't think any of us are like that."

"And yet, here you are."

Seemingly out of nowhere, Aftershock bolted across the plaza toward the seeker.

"Starscream!"

Leaving him with no time to react, the scorpling ran at him and grabbed onto one of his legs. He seemed to stumble for a moment, but then he glanced around the plaza, his aura growing slightly annoyed and confused.

"Where did you- where are your parents?" he asked. Aftershock looked up at him, giggling briefly, but saying nothing. Arcee smiled down at her, her aura turning delighted.

"What's your name?"

In response, the scorpling merely stared at her, her bewildered expression radiating into her aura. After a second, Starscream crossed his arms and looked down at Aftershock.

"She asked you a question, ladybug."

The scorpling stared back at Arcee, occasionally glancing over toward Wheeljack. Still clinging to Starscream's leg, she finally mumbled an answer.

"Aftershock."

Arcee knelt down as she replied.

"My name's Arcee."

Aftershock remained as she was, lingering beside Starscream, her antennae folded back. After a minute, Starscream reached down and pried the scorpling off of his leg.

"Let go of me... Where are your parents? What are you doing here?"

Aftershock looked up at him, holding her hands to her mouth and starting to gnaw on her fingers.

"They went... umm... up..."

"I think they went to Sanctuary", Ratchet said. Arcee shifted her weight to sit down on the ground in front of Aftershock, and held out a hand toward the scorpling. After a minute, Aftershock finally wandered over to her, taking her hand only to bite Arcee's fingers instead of her own. Starscream let out a sigh upon seeing this.

"Ugh, she'll bite anything she can get her hands on."

"Uhh, just out of curiosity," Wheeljack muttered, keeping his distance somewhat, "who _are_ her parents?"

Starscream responded almost absentmindedly as he stared at Aftershock fiddling with Arcee's hand.

"Soundwave and Shockwave."

The autobot warrior abruptly pulled her hand back upon hearing this, and Wheeljack's aura almost gained a hint of genuine interest. Arcee's voice trailed off as she spoke.

"Soundwave... and..."

The wrecker continued where she had left off.

"I'm not sure which one of them I'd _least_ expect to have a child... I'd sooner believe that Shockwave _killed_ a bunch of children for science or something."

"Oh, it wasn't like they meant to," Starscream said. "Primus knows Shockwave wouldn't deal with that voluntarily. The only reason he did was because it saved his life when he crash landed here, or something to that effect."

"And that was the day the smelting pits froze over, huh? I guess that explains the name."

Aftershock, holding both of Arcee's hands in her own, started swinging them side to side, and the warrior smiled again in response.

"She still turned out cute though."

The seeker growled as he sent a message to Soundwave.

"Aftershock's here at the Temple Grounds... what she was _doing_ here is beyond me."

[Is R-Nal with her?]

"No, she was by herself."

Starscream waited for a response, but received none. Just as he was about to send another message, a groundbridge portal opened, and Shockwave stepped through. For some reason, Arcee in particular seemed to cringe upon seeing the scientist, her aura withdrawing and turning hostile. Wheeljack glanced at her as she stood up, considering Aftershock immediately ran toward Shockwave. The seeker, on the other hand, growled as he held his hands to his hips.

"I messaged Soundwave, not you."

The scientist reached to pick the scorpling up, holding her with his gun arm. He emitted no aura that Starscream could notice, and he stared directly at the seeker.

"Soundwave is reprogramming the luminoth satellites to better recognize cybertronian vessels. My contribution is already complete, so I am more available."

"You two are basically interchangeable, aren't you?"

"... Not... in the slightest."

Shockwave soon noticed Arcee's musing stare, and returned it with the unflinching gaze of his singular eye. However, neither one said anything, and so the only thing audible between them was Aftershock quietly muttering nonsense to herself. After a minute of tense silence, Wheeljack stepped over beside the warrior, hesitantly placing a hand on her shoulder.

"He'll win a staring contest, you know."

Arcee glanced at him for a second, then looked back at Shockwave.

"Things really have changed... haven't they?"

"They have."

Starscream glanced between them before finally turning to Arcee.

"Wait, I talk to you and you're fine, but you see _him_ and you get all angsty?"

The warrior turned to glare at him.

"Don't think for a _second_ , Starscream, that I've forgotten what you did to Cliffjumper."

Instantly, the seeker's wings drooped back, his aura retracted inward, and he shivered somewhat, though he tried to maintain a semblance of calm.

"I... uhh..."

Wheeljack crossed his arms as he stood beside Arcee, staring at the scientist.

"And you... Because of you, I've watched wreckers suffer in ways I wouldn't wish on anyone."

Shockwave had no response to this other than to look away from him, at least until Ratchet stepped between them.

"Please," he said, not looking at either party directly, "there's nothing any of us can do to change the past now. But the war is over. We have to just... go from there."

"What," Arcee interjected, "so we just forgive everything the decepticons have done?"

"I didn't say that, did I!?" Ratchet yelled. "Do you think it's been _easy_ for me to see Megatron every day and _not_ stick a scalpel through his spark? _Every day_ , I considered it."

"You are very fortunate," muttered Shockwave, "that Soundwave was not here to hear you say that."

Ratchet turned to point threateningly toward the scientist.

_"I wasn't done, Shockwave."_

Aftershock's antennae folded down as she started to cower from the autobot's angry stare, whimpering quietly as she turned to bury herself in Shockwave's armor as much as she could. In response, the scientist held a hand to gently pet the back of her head, and without another word, turned and walked away.

Ratchet let out a sigh, but looked back toward Arcee as she spoke.

"So? Why didn't you do it? I would have."

"Because," the medic continued, "and I honestly can't believe I'm saying this, but he's suffered enough. Neither of you were there, you didn't see what-... everyone here has been through a lot. Even you."

He gestured toward Starscream, who looked away and crossed his arms in response, even as his aura turned anxious, and he withdrew it further toward himself as he replied.

"I... I don't know what you're talking about."

"The building collapse? Physical abuse? Self harming? Please, even I can tell that Megatron's given you some sort of panic disorder-"

Starscream's aura suddenly flared with rage, and he sliced through the air with his blade fingers before holding his hands in front of him, his fingers locked into place like claws, his whole body trembling as he stepped toward Ratchet. The depths of the emotions that suddenly possessed him overpowered his aura, leaving it full of nothing but static, and he very deliberately held one lethally sharp finger to point toward the medic. When he finally spoke, his voice was but a whisper, despite the fact that he clearly had started struggling to breathe.

 _"You... don't know..._ any _of what I've gone through, autobot... understand?"_

Ratchet, having not expected that reaction, stared at the seeker, somewhat stunned, though after a moment his aura turned to one of sympathy. Arcee and Wheeljack similarly stared, unsure of how to react. Considering that Ratchet did not respond, however, Starscream glanced between the three autobots, smothered by the silence. He became even more restless, his panicked trembling most visible in his hands as he backed away slightly, his wings folded down, his posture like that of a terrified animal.

_"Don't... Don't look at me like that!"_

Ratchet took a step toward him, holding his hands up somewhat.

"Starscream, I didn't mean to-"

 _"Shut up!"_ the seeker screamed. _"You don't-..."_

Starscream stood frozen for a moment, before finally running toward the cliff edge and jumping off, transforming as he fell and flying off into the distance. As the sound of his engine faded into the tranquility of the Temple Grounds, Arcee turned her stare back to Ratchet.

"What... the hell was that?"

The medic let out something between a sigh and a growl as he shook his head.

"Him and Megatron are so fragile."

 

Starscream flew off toward the Voulge as fast as his vehicle mode would allow, breaking the sound barrier as he did so.

Ratchet was not wrong in anything he'd said, but how was that possible? Of all the people to not only notice but witness firsthand his crippling panic, why did it have to be the autobots? He hardly ever interacted with Ratchet, and of course, he hadn't even seen the other two in years. He had tried so desperately to hide these weaknesses he knew he had, that for someone he barely knew to so blatantly acknowledge them...

He struggled to focus as he flew; his mind continued to linger on what had just happened. Why did the mere mention of a panic disorder immediately trigger such overwhelming fear in him!? Why hadn't it gone away when they had settled on Aether!?

He transformed and landed on the top deck of the Voulge, taking a moment to try and regain the outward appearance of tranquility before stepping inside. Still, he couldn't stop shaking as he strode through the halls, hoping he could make it to his quarters before anyone saw him. However, as he turned one corner, he walked past Knockout, who must have instantly noticed the conflicting chaos in his aura, given that he immediately turned to follow the seeker.

"Whhhat happened?"

"I'm fine."

"Uhh... no you're not."

_"Shut up."_

Starscream tried to ignore him, as well as the terror that had started to return. He held his hands close to him and started fidgeting as he walked, though Knockout followed him closely, briefly looking around to make sure no one else was nearby before speaking again.

"Starscream, I can help you-"

"I said _shut up!"_

Knockout rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Look, I don't know _why_ you're so intent on torturing yourself like this, but I can help you, just let me get-"

The seeker whipped around, grabbing Knockout's face with one hand and shoving him away. His aura burned with static, a torrent of pent-up apprehension leaving him dangerously close to firing one of his missiles at someone out of sheer hysteria. He needed to hide, _now._

Fortunately, Knockout backed off, wandering away toward someplace he didn't care about, allowing Starscream to finally reach his quarters. As soon as the door closed behind him, he sat down on his bed and buried his face in his hands, trying in vain to quell his shaking.

It was strange how, despite the emotional turmoil that smothered him, his mind was completely blank. He could only focus on the darkness he saw, the quiet sounds of the ship around him, the chill of the air, and yet he still couldn't stop trembling, and he still couldn't breathe.

He wasn't sure how long exactly it had been before the door opened suddenly, and Knockout walked in. For some reason, this felt like an imminent threat, causing Starscream to scramble away from him, backing into the opposite corner of the room, priming both his missiles and pointing them toward the medic.

He could hardly recognize himself anymore. In the moment, his fear had all but consumed him.

Knockout, bless his horrible spark, merely rolled his eyes as he walked across the room toward Starscream without the slightest hint of hesitation. The seeker, hardly able to catch his breath, again tried to back away from Knockout, only for the medic to grab onto his arm. Without thinking, Starscream clawed at him with his other, leaving three parallel gashes across his armor. Knockout, of course, looked down at himself, letting out an annoyed groan.

 _"Damn it,_ Starscream, why are you so difficult!?"

Contrary to anything the seeker had expected, Knockout soon grabbed his other arm, holding both behind him to pin him rather forcefully to the wall, before taking a small syringe in his other hand and injecting him with its contents.

Starscream stared blankly forward as his mind suddenly went hazy, his whole body starting to feel heavy and weak. After a few seconds, his legs started to give out, but Knockout held onto him, lowering him to the floor. The medic sat down across from Starscream, briefly holding a hand to the scratches across his chest.

"Primus, Starscream, I _just_ buffed this yesterday."

The seeker leaned against the wall, barely able to sit upright considering his body was all but limp. However, his shaking had finally started to subside, his breathing slowed, and for once he was actually able to catch his breath. He still stared blankly forward, even as he responded to Knockout.

"Don't you... buff that every day?"

"Every other day."

Starscream was silent for a moment as he merely sat there, able to feel as all of the terror he'd felt before gradually melted away into lethargy. Finally, he glanced toward Knockout.

"What did... What did you just..."

"It's a... sedative."

The medic looked away, his aura turning solemn as he continued.

"You know... Breakdown used to have panic attacks too. And like you, he'd attack anyone who got anywhere near him. But I was the only person he trusted. And even then, he hated the idea of using medication to help with it. So I'd sit with him... for hours... until he'd calm down enough to be okay leaving the room."

"So... you just force it on me?"

"I'm not willing to watch you go through this without doing _some_ thing to help, but I'm also not willing to stay with you for three hours because I don't think either of us would want that."

"And yet... you were willing to expend that effort for your lab assistant?"

"He wasn't-"

Knockout let out a sigh as he held his head in one hand. He seemed pensive for a moment, his aura cycling between annoyance, sympathy, and some sort of overwhelming despair, like his spark was yearning endlessly for something he could not have. Finally, he lowered his hands, but looked away from Starscream as he spoke.

"I don't even know why I'm telling you this, but... Breakdown was my conjunx."

Even as lethargic as Starscream was, both physically and mentally, this still caught his attention. But before he could respond, Knockout held up a hand to silence him.

"I know, I know," the medic said, "I don't seem like the type, and Breakdown and I didn't have anything in common, and we didn't ever look like conjunx, but we were. And it wasn't recent."

"That... makes some of the things I said to you seem really awkward now..."

"Oh, neither of us ever believed in exclusive relationships."

Starscream stared at him, trying to process what exactly that meant, but his mind had become foggy, and as such he could barely think.

"Wait, you..."

"Why am I even telling you this?" Knockout interjected. "Will you just fall asleep already so I can leave?"

The seeker hadn't realized how tired he'd become until hearing that. Still, his curiosity persevered.

"So... you and Breakdown were conjunx... and you still saw other people?"

"Yup."

"Mm..."

Starscream's fatigue soon started to overtake him, and briefly he closed his eyes, only to find himself sliding against the wall to slump to the floor. Part of him wanted to move, to at least go sleep on his bed rather than lying awkwardly across the floor, but the rest of him was not only lethargic, but remarkably comfortable. Knockout stared at him, muttering a moment later.

"Uhh... okay, maybe I gave you too much."

Starscream could only manage a quiet, contented moan in response.

 

As Shockwave walked along the well-worn path through the forest toward the Alterium, Aftershock clung to him, looking around at the canopy of trees overhead, trying to locate some of the birds that sang out into the otherwise quiet air.

"Scorpling..." the scientist muttered, catching Aftershock's attention. "What were you doing at the Temple Grounds by yourself?"

In response, the child's aura turned anxious, and she started mumbling.

"I... watch things."

"I mean, why were you there?"

"I don't know..."

A groundbridge portal opened beside them, though Shockwave continued walking as normal. Soundwave stepped through the portal, finding himself almost directly beside the scientist, and so hardly had to alter his gait to walk with him almost in lock step. Aftershock reached out a hand toward Soundwave, who seemed all too eager to take it and hold it in his own. The scientist's aura grew amused as he spoke.

"Why are you the only one with visually impressive groundbridge privileges?"

[I'm probably the only one who can manage visually impressive groundbridges. I would trust you and Ratchet with groundbridge control, but I don't think either of you are creative enough to use it to its full potential.]

"... I would challenge that accusation."

Soundwave looked over at the scientist, his aura turning equally amused to match Shockwave's.

[You would?]

"If I had groundbridge control, I would bridge into unoccupied rooms and go about my business as though I am simply everywhere at all times."

[Nice.]

Within moments, Soundwave accessed the Alterium's computer system, adding both Shockwave and Ratchet to the groundbridge master control whitelist. The scientist glanced at him, and Soundwave returned his gaze, smiling behind his visor.

[I'd like to see that.]

"But why-"

Ratchet messaged him in turn, sounding equally confused.

"Did you... mean to give me groundbridge control privileges?"

[Yes.]

"... Well... thank you, but why?"

[You and Shockwave are the only other people who are experienced enough with groundbridge physics for me to trust. But I also want to see which one of us can use it most creatively.]

"That will _not_ be me."

[We shall see.]

"... Uhh... Okay..."

The air went quiet again, and the two continued to walk through the forest, passing by a couple luminoth as they strode past. Shockwave finally set Aftershock down, where she proceeded to run, giggling, toward a nearby mushroom beside the base of a tree. She crouched down next to it, and reached out a hand to poke its cap repeatedly. Soundwave and Shockwave walked past her, watching her but saying nothing, so that after a minute, the scorpling realized they had moved on and consequently ran to catch up to them. Soundwave looked down at her as she moved to walk between him and the scientist.

[You shouldn't run off by yourself.]

"Why?"

[If something happens to you and no one knows where you are, we can't help you.]

"Ah!"

She darted forward to investigate another mushroom, and Soundwave let out a sigh, sending a message to Shockwave.

[She's impossible.]

Aftershock, rather than just poking this particular mushroom, picked it up, squishing it repeatedly. Soundwave reached out with one of his cables in response, grabbing the scorpling's arm just as she was about to try and eat it. All while still walking, Soundwave twisted her arm, causing her to drop the mushroom as she let out a brief cry of pain. He dragged her back toward him and Shockwave, then finally let her go.

[Don't eat mushrooms.]

"Why?"

Shockwave responded instead.

"Cybertronian biology does not respond well to fungal pathogens."

"But it's _squishy!_ "

"It could also cause an infection that could kill you."

Aftershock let out a dismayed noise in response, but nonetheless followed alongside Soundwave and Shockwave as they made their way back to the ship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm 22 and I still run over to and excitedly poke mushrooms.


	3. Return

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Basically this whole chapter - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OIwPKnalzE  
> I'm not sure what it is about that song that's just so... intriguing to me. Almost everything about that game is amazing and I love it.
> 
> Since last time I started court reporting school, so not only is that taking up my time, it's making me more mindful of the strain I put on my hands, and it's led me to realize that typing on my computer is actually the worst activity I can do in terms of tendonitis/carpal tunnel. But of course, when has THAT ever stopped me?  
> I'm eager to get far enough into the learning curve to be able to write this story using my steno machine. The fun part is that I'd have to add dictionary entries for all the names that aren't already existing english words. I'll write 'Megatron' as 'megs' but how the fuck would I write all these luminoth names?

Wheeljack sat on the ground beside his ship, the space around him covered in the various panels and components he removed from the hull. The sky was an overcast gray, and a chill wind blew across the plains without any resistance. It wasn't necessarily pleasant weather, but that didn't really matter. Only an ice storm would really have deterred Wheeljack from working on his ship. The problem was that there was a lot to repair, and some of it was beyond his expertise. Nonetheless, he took advantage of the quiet, doing whatever basic, immediate repairs were most urgent, when the sound of a groundbridge caught his attention, and he glanced over to find Ratchet stepping toward him. The wrecker turned back to his ship, remaining silent just as Ratchet did. Neither one spoke, even as Wheeljack removed yet another panel from the hull of the Jackhammer, uncovering burnt wires and mangled tubing. Ratchet, considering the wrecker was ignoring him, walked up to the ship as well, placing a hand on it, seeming to inspect some of the visible damage. Finally, after what felt like several minutes, Wheeljack glared toward the medic.

"Did you  _ need _ somethin'?"

Ratchet cast a fleeting glance toward the wrecker as he crossed his arms.

"I was going to ask if you... needed any help with this, but it's not like you let me help last time."

"... Well, the damage is more extensive this time around. Damn lightning really did a number on it."

With that, Ratchet stepped over to look at the mess of frayed and melted wiring from which Wheeljack was removing components.

"You're not... in a hurry to leave, are you?"

"No, I just..."

The wrecker stopped working for a moment, though he glanced away from Ratchet, staring out into the turbulent sky.

"This place, it's... a lot to take in."

The medic knelt down beside Wheeljack, picking up the mangled form of a surge protector. Even the best cybertronian tech couldn't withstand the power of nature, it seemed. He spoke hesitantly, his voice quiet, his aura withdrawn.

"It's, uhh... it's been lonely. Even though the decepticons aren't enemies anymore... it's not like I consider them friends."

"Sure," Wheeljack said with a smirk, "but since when do you make friends with anyone?"

Ratchet rolled his eyes, then moved to sit beside the wrecker, glancing toward the melted conduit he was working on.

"... You weren't kidding about the lightning damage."

"I know," Wheeljack replied. "On the way down it shorted out all my hydraulics, instruments, everything. The thrusters were all stuck at full burn and I was only left with the manual controls, so I was basically... flying a giant rocket-powered brick."

"Well, and knowing how  _ you _ fly, I'm surprised there's not  _ more _ damage."

Wheeljack turned to Ratchet, reaching over to punch him lightly.

"Hey, I'd like to see you do better."

The wrecker reached his hand into the space that had been covered by the hull panel, and after a moment, pulled out a small, round object with a fan on one side, its surface having been blackened by fire. He turned it over in his hands for a second before speaking.

"Wow, I guess the cooling fans really  _ were _ on fire."

"You really should let Shockwave do some retrofits on your ship-"

"Not a chance. It's one thing to land on a planet full of 'cons and not attack them, but they haven't earned my trust. Even if they've earned yours."

"Wheeljack... there are no autobots or decepticons anymore."

"Sure there are. I'll be an autobot 'till the day I die. And you-"

The wrecker gestured toward Ratchet, finding that, where there had once been an autobot symbol on his chest, there was nothing now. Wheeljack's aura retreated inward, and he grew tense as he spoke.

"What'd they do to you?"

"Nothing. If being an autobot means following the council, then it's a cause I no longer wish to be part of."

"The council? Since when do they control things?"

"Wheeljack, have you even  _ been  _ to Iacon recently?"

"Yeah, and I couldn't stand it. But I'm still an autobot, and a wrecker."

"And what does that mean anymore?"

Wheeljack's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"Look, I don't know what kind of crazy ideas Megatron's managed to get into your head, but-"

Ratchet's aura flared in response.

"If you think for a  _ second _ that Megatron's got some kind of influence on me, then you  _ don't know  _ me. I know where I stand. I just want to stand as far away from the council as possible. And it just so happens that the decepticons are standing there with me."

"I thought you said there were no decepticons anymore."

Ratchet let out an aggravated groan as he looked away.

"Of  _ anyone _ to crash land here," he mumbled, "why'd it have to be you?"

"Well, I'm sorry we were trying to pay you a visit, doc."

Upon hearing the last word, Ratchet stared back at the wrecker, holding up a hand as though wanting to say something, though all that escaped him was an exasperated sigh. Wheeljack, on the other hand, smirked ever so slightly upon seeing the medic's reaction. He was about to speak, when something seemed to catch his attention, and his eyes started scanning the area around the ship. He stood up, looking up at the sky.

"You hear that?"

Ratchet stood up just as the wrecker did.

"Yeah..."

It sounded like a mechanical roar somewhere off in the distance, but it was getting louder. After a minute, a faint glow was visible through the clouds, and a ship of some sort descended through the cloud ceiling. It was clearly not cybertronian, or likely luminoth, given that it was quite small. It was a strange lumpy gray craft, trailing black smoke and wobbling as it careened across the sky, somehow managing to stay airborne as it flew overhead. Its engines revved up, the sound growing even louder as it ascended back up into the clouds, and disappeared. Wheeljack glanced toward Ratchet, noticing his stunned expression and horrified aura.

"What the hell was that?" the wrecker asked.

In response, Ratchet merely opened a comm link.

"Soundwave?"

[Yes?]

"Space Pirates."

There was silence on the other end for a moment.

[Are you sure?]

"Do I have to be?"

Another minute went by in silence, until a groundbridge opened, hovering in the air. Soundwave, in his vehicle mode, flew out through it, ascending up into the clouds and vanishing from view, just as the sound of his engine faded into silence. Wheeljack turned to Ratchet once more, his aura seeming confused.

"Space pirates?"

"That's what the luminoth call them, at least. They've attacked us before. We should-"

Ratchet reflexively held up a hand as something flew by him, and it took him a moment to realize that it was gunfire from another ship still hidden in the clouds. Several more purple shots struck the ground nearby, and immediately, he and Wheeljack ran back toward the Jackhammer, momentarily taking cover. The wrecker drew his blasters, and hesitantly glanced around the corner, only for the gunfire to return.

"Ah, scrap, I can't even see what's shooting at us..."

Seemingly out of nowhere, another energy shot flew at them from directly in front of them, striking the hull of the ship just between them. Naturally, they each retreated in opposite directions, and both transformed and began driving across the plains. Ratchet opened another comm link, swerving out of the way of gunfire as he drove.

"Soundwave!"

He only heard static on the other end, meaning something nearby was jamming the signal.

Ratchet turned back toward Wheeljack, though there was no way he would ever be able to catch up to him given their choices in vehicle modes. One of the two ships that had been shooting at them finally descended from out of the clouds, hovering motionless above the ground, as did the second one a moment later. Wheeljack stopped and transformed, aiming one blaster at each ship, and Ratchet soon managed to catch up to him and transform as well, although he had no weapons to aim at them.

The two vessels each opened doors along their sides, and four alien forms jumped out, using jetpacks to stay afloat. While the air was anything but silent, no one moved, at least until one of the ships opened fire again. Wheeljack began firing toward one of the pirates as he backed up, glancing toward Ratchet after a moment.

"Were you going to just stand there or shoot them?"

"I don't have guns!"

"You-"

The wrecker actually took a moment to stare at him with a stunned expression, at least until the aerotroopers each began firing missiles at the autobots. They both darted out of the way as explosions rocked the ground, sending dirt and clumps of flaming grass up into the air. Ratchet tried to send a groundbridge command back to the ship, only to receive an error signal in response.

"Wheeljack, I can't bridge us out of here. They must have a signal jammer somewhere."

The wrecker fired a few rounds at one aerotrooper, whose jetpack soon starting billowing black smoke. Within seconds, the device exploded, sending off several stray missiles and consuming the pirate who'd been using it. Wheeljack glanced over at Ratchet, gesturing back toward the Jackhammer.

"There's a shotgun in my ship."

"You expect me to fight  _ airborne  _ pirates with a  _ shotgun!? _ "

Wheeljack turned back toward the medic, actually reaching toward him and grabbing his arm, jerking him forward almost violently.

"Hey, last I checked, you don't have  _ any _ guns, so it's the  _ least _ you could do."

Ratchet shoved him away, his aura radiating fury.

"Don't start thinking  _ you _ can order me around when you don't even-"

He bolted out of the way as another flurry of missiles rocked the ground around him, prompting him to transform once again and drive as fast as he could back toward the ship. While the aerotroopers seemed to linger around Wheeljack, however, a third pirate ship descended from the clouds in front of Ratchet as he drove, and soon spawned its own troopers. Before he could react, a missile flew at him and exploded, sending him flying through the air, transforming before hitting the ground and tumbling across the grass. When he finally stopped, he looked up to find Wheeljack still shooting at the pirates who surrounded him, and occasional bursts of light visible through the clouds. Someone must have been fighting them up there, but he couldn't see what was going on.

Another missile exploded beside him, and frantically Ratchet got back to his feet, running toward the ship. When he finally ran inside, he paused for a moment in the brief reprieve, noticing the scattered placement of everything within the vessel, likely due to the crash. A metallic thud echoed through the ship as gunfire struck the hull, and Ratchet grabbed the shotgun from the floor. Where Wheeljack even  _ got _ such a weapon was another question, considering he'd never seen the wrecker use such a thing...

The gun made a satisfying series of clicks as he readied it, and stepped outside, aiming toward the first aerotrooper he saw, and fired. The pirate was jolted back, and frantically started reaching back toward his jetpack. After a second, he fell to the ground, leaving his jetpack to fly upward before exploding. Ratchet glanced toward one of the other troopers as missiles again started striking the hull of the Jackhammer, and had to fire several shots before the second pirate's jetpack exploded, taking him with it.

It was in times like this that Ratchet wished he'd spent more time in battle during the war. Despite the obvious danger, it was exhilarating, and the impact he made was clear and obvious. Alas, he had been arguably more useful tending to the injured than going out onto the battlefield himself, even though it, at times, hadn't felt quite as rewarding.

He glanced up upon finding Wheeljack driving back toward him, followed closely by two more aerotroopers. He raised his shotgun again, but waited until the wrecker transformed nearby, pointing his guns toward the pirates as well.

"Damn it," Wheeljack said, "I'm trying to fix my ship and they keep shooting at it."

Ratchet fired at one of the troopers, landing a hit on his second shot, causing the jetpack to explode as they seemed awfully eager to do. Wheeljack fired at the second pirate, but when the jetpack began smoking, the pirate instead flew toward the wrecker, diving at full speed toward the ground and exploding violently. Wheeljack was thrown back, slamming into the side of his ship where he slumped to the ground, motionless.

The blast had thrown Ratchet off balance as well, but he nonetheless scrambled over to the wrecker, rolling him onto his back to make sure he was okay. The sound of engines once again caught his attention, however, and looked up to find two  _ more _ pirate vessels descending from the clouds, as well as a third of a different type, looking more like a gunship than the others.

_ Oh, scrap. _

Before he could even react, however, several missile blasts struck one ship from above, sending it careening into a second, sending both plummeting to the ground. The gunship seemed to try to flee, only to be met with several well-placed shots that struck a small vent on its front. The hull was suddenly enveloped in flames, and the craft began spinning as it fell to the ground. A black decepticon jet dove out of the clouds, swinging upward before transforming, and landing on the ground.

Ratchet recognized this particular vehicon, considering her distinctive, and rather striking, black armor and red accents, although he hadn't ever spoken to her. She was slightly more bulky, and considerably more well-armed than the other seekers, but it seemed to suit her well. As she landed, she glanced toward Ratchet, holding a hand to her hip, but it was the autobot who spoke first.

"You couldn't have shown up any earlier?"

The black seeker stared at him with displeasure as she meandered toward him.

"Well, it's not like I had six  _ other _ ships to take care of or anything. I guess autobots aren't quite as resilient as I'd heard. Oh, and you're welcome."

"Suddenly I see why Starscream hates you so much."

"And since when does his opinion matter?"

Wheeljack started to stir, and as such, Ratchet turned his attention back toward the wrecker.

"Wheeljack?"

The wrecker slowly opened his eyes, then moved to hold a hand to his head as he spoke.

"Ugh... What happened?"

"Lots of explosions, mostly."

"Right... yeah..."

Wheeljack moved to sit upright, though he still held his head, seemingly in pain. He glanced up at the seeker who stood before him, and his aura withdrew reflexively.

"And who are you supposed to be?"

The seeker crossed her arms as she replied.

"My name's Typhoon, and I just saved your life, so you're welcome for that."

Wheeljack rolled his eyes, glancing toward Ratchet.

"Is being unlikeable just inherent to all seekers?"

"I think it is."

Typhoon let out an aggravated sigh.

"Really," she groaned, "would it kill you to show some respect?"

"Respect is  _ earned _ ," Ratchet said, "not demanded."

The black seeker rolled her eyes before turning and running off to jump into the air and transform, spinning through the air as she shot upward into the clouds.

With the air finally silent, Wheeljack stood up, followed by Ratchet, and they both gazed at the further damaged remains of the Jackhammer for a minute. The wrecker again seemed to notice something, however, and glanced around the area. Upon realizing what was making the quiet scuffling noise, the two walked over toward a space pirate crawling through the grass. He'd been one Ratchet had shot, who fell from his jetpack instead of exploding. His armor was dented and covered in smeared dirt, and he left a trail of green blood as he dragged himself across the ground. One of his legs was mangled, despite the armor paneling, looking like a mass of metal and exoskeleton shards and bleeding flesh. He flopped over onto his back as the autobots approached, trying to scramble away from them, his yellow eyes wide as he stared.

"Wait, please..."

Ratchet knelt down beside the pirate, considering he'd never heard one speak before.

"Why are you here?"

"Please... please don't kill me..."

"Then tell me what the Space Pirates are doing on Aether."

The pirate glanced between Ratchet and Wheeljack for a moment, seeming to finally catch his breath before speaking.

"I don't even know why, but Science Team ordered us to come here... Something to... Something with the Leviathan that fell here."

"Are they looking for phazon?"

"No, that's the thing..."

The pirate shifted his weight somewhat as he continued.

"There's tons of phazon back on Urtraghus, and the phazon mines on Tallon IV are still active... I don't know why they told us to come here. I heard somewhere that... this order came from Mother Brain herself... but I don't know. I would tell you our whole plan if I knew it, but I don't, I swear."

"Who's Mother Brain?"

"You... you don't...?"

Before he could continue, another voice cried out.

_ "Traitor!" _

Another pirate seemed to materialize out of thin air, folding out a glowing scythe from his arm and stabbing the crippled pirate lying on the ground. Ratchet scrambled back, startled, deploying his own blades, while Wheeljack drew his swords. Before either of them could attack, however, the pirate turned to face them, and faded from sight. Wheeljack cautiously stepped forward, watching for any sign of movement.

"Come out, coward!"

Much to his surprise, the pirate actually responded, though he still remained cloaked, and was clearly running away as he spoke.

"Hail, Mother Brain! Hail the Dark Hunter!"

Wheeljack's posture relaxed, until finally he sheathed his swords, prompting Ratchet to do the same with his arm blades. After a minute, the medic seemed to realize something, and turned toward Wheeljack.

"Wait, if it's the Leviathan they want..."

"What? What the hell is going on?"

Ratchet opened a comm link to the entirety of the decepticon high command.

"Space Pirates are here on Aether, they're going to attack the energon mines."

Megatron replied after only a moment.

"And what makes you say that?"

"Well, one of them told me they were here for the Leviathan, and then another one called him a traitor and killed him, so I'm inclined to believe what I heard."

"Soundwave, have you found where they're coming from?"

[Not yet. The gunships all seem to be heading toward the mines.]

"Railgun!"

"Yes my Lord?"

"Evacuate and lock down the energon mines immediately."

"Y-Yes sir."

"All decepticons, convene at the Alterium immediately. There is Space Pirate activity on Aether."

A groundbridge opened beside Ratchet, and he glanced toward Wheeljack.

"You know, it was nice and peaceful and quiet until  _ you _ got here."

_ "Sure." _

With that, the two stepped through the portal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You were thinking there was going to be some shipping, didn't you? There will be, eventually... depending on what you define as shipping. I actually didn't expect the WHOLE chapter to focus on these two, but... that's how it worked out.  
> There were a couple times in here though that I just envisioned myself taking a big stamp and stamping this with "I ship it!"
> 
> So once upon a time, I played War for Cybertron and, playing as Ratchet and using a shotgun, I had the thought that "TFP Ratchet only wishes he could be this badass." You're welcome, TFP Ratchet.  
> Meanwhile in the TFP game, he's honestly the best fighter, like he does this crazy spinning combo move complete with maniacal laughter and everything. And he DOES have guns in that game, unlike the show. He actually wins a fight against Soundwave, so he was most definitely on the green juice again, if you know what I mean. I'll need to do a twitch stream of that game someday.
> 
> I dunno, I still don't feel like I write good enough fight scenes. I'm pulling enemies directly from metroid games now, like the Space Pirate ATC/Assault Skiff which come from Metroid Prime 3, but Metroid Prime style aerotroopers and Shadow Pirates.


	4. In Defense of Freedom

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT5lZEl0KhQ - Better for the first half or so  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wbn_dH9nz6o - Better for the second half or so, but especially the ending.  
> (I ended up there by listening to a remix, of sorts, of another song from that game)
> 
> Yes, I realize that's an unnecessarily cool title.  
> Sorry for neglecting you, but I've been thinking about this story a lot. The other night I even had a dream that involved some crazy depressing but vivid ideas with Arcee and Starscream.

The Alterium was, of course, abuzz with activity when Soundwave finally returned, having sent Laserbeak to maintain surveillance in his stead. As he stepped into the meeting room this time, it was much more crowded than usual, though Shockwave, of course, had extended him the courtesy of saving his seat. Among the regular attendees, at least from when they used to have meetings, were a number of extra vehicons who stood behind the occupied chairs; Wheeljack and Arcee were also there for some reason, sitting to either side of Ratchet. In the center of the room were the luminoth; U-Mos, J-Syr, three who Soundwave could only assume were the three regional Sentinels, A-Scl, and several others, including R-Nal, who Soundwave and Shockwave only knew because Aftershock had seemed to grow fond of his two children.

The somewhat awkward height difference between the cybertronian-sized tables and the smaller luminoth seemed to go unnoticed as Starscream finally entered, prompting Megatron to step toward the middle of the room.

"Alright," the gladiator said, instantly silencing the muttering in the room. "This is what we know so far. Space Pirates have been spotted on Aether in the western plains."

As he spoke, Soundwave activated a screen along the back wall, displaying a regional map showing where the ships had been found. Beside it, a map of the planet came up, rotating to show the location of the energon mines on the other side of the planet. U-Mos, his wings drifting gently behind him, floated up slightly into the air, gesturing to the map.

"They only seem interested in the Leviathan crater you're mining. No Pirate vessels have been seen anywhere near our settlements, nor have we been able to locate any flagships in orbit, though we can assume there is at least one."

One of the other luminoth hesitantly spoke a moment later.

"They've hijacked our satellites for their communication, though. We can't use them currently, but it might be possible to locate them that way."

Megatron turned toward Soundwave, needing only glance at him for Soundwave to nod in response, already knowing what he was going to ask. With that, Megatron instead turned to Railgun.

"The energon mines were locked down?"

"Yes, master."

"If they tried to get in, how long do you think it would take?"

"Well... the entryway was sealed with a... two meter thick steel alloy reinforced blast door that locks from the inside... and that tunnel is at the thinnest point between the outside and the inside of the meteor, so... the only way they'll get in is to either cut through the door or dig through the rock. Either way, we probably have a few hours at least."

"Good."

"Yes," U-Mos chimed in, "that should give us time to figure out what their motive is."

The gladiator gestured toward Ratchet, drawing the Sentinel's attention as well.

"Tell us what you heard, if you would."

The medic seemed somewhat uncomfortable considering the amount of attention suddenly focused on him, but he nonetheless spoke, albeit while gazing at the map on the screen.

"So I... asked one of them what they were doing here. He said he wasn't sure, but it had to do with the Leviathan, and they aren't just looking for phazon. He said something about this order coming from a... Mother Brain, and then another pirate called him a traitor and killed him."

This seemed to pique the luminoth's interest, their antennae all perking up. J-Syr muttered under her breath in response.

"Oh, that's bad."

U-Mos glanced at her, then back toward Megatron as he spoke.

"Yes, this... could be quite serious. Mother Brain is the organic supercomputer who effectively controls the whole of the Space Pirates at present. I'm not sure what she wants with us, but..."

"Wait," Starscream muttered, "they take orders from a computer?"

"Mother Brain is more than that. She was created by the Chozo, and is both the pinnacle of their technological achievement, and their... greatest failure. She's the reason the Chozo are extinct, and she's since... adopted the Space Pirates as subordinates, in a sense. If she has taken interest in Aether... then this must be something of galactic significance. I would hesitate to strike until we know what's going on."

Megatron glanced down at the Sentinel for a moment.

"And I would strike now, before they have the chance to complete whatever mission brought them here in the first place."

The room was silent for a second, until finally one of the other luminoth broke the silence, a man with pale green markings who floated over the floor just as U-Mos did.

"For what it's worth, I agree with Megatron."

The Sentinel turned to look at him, and he continued.

"The Space Pirates are working without a true base, which means anything they're using is portable, temporary... We have an advantage over them while they set things up, and with every second that passes, we lose a little bit of that advantage."

U-Mos remained silent, and Starscream spoke instead.

"But obviously we can't just go in blind. We need  _ some _ idea of what we're dealing with."

Soundwave projected a surveillance image to the screen from Laserbeak, showing the Leviathan and its surrounding infrastructure from what must have been close to its altitude limit. The room's occupants all turned their attention to the image as Soundwave zoomed in on the still image, highlighting the pixelated forms of Pirate devices scattered near the entrance to the mines.

Because the meteor's impact site was almost exactly on the opposite side of the planet from the Temple Grounds, frequent travel was somewhat cumbersome, and so an ancillary settlement had started to grow around the crater. But based on the images Soundwave had received, it looked as though the Pirates had bombed the town from orbit, leaving any formerly identifiable structures as little more than piles of rubble. But that would have to wait.

As Laserbeak continued to send him data, the image on screen slowly grew sharper, and he zoomed in further, focusing his attention on the entrance to the mines. U-Mos lifted himself up further, pointing toward two particular structures placed alongside the entryway. He hesitated, but finally he spoke.

"These are anti-aircraft guns. They're already setting up defenses."

Steelwing, of all people, responded.

"They have portable anti-aircraft turrets?"

While U-Mos turned to face him, it was J-Syr who replied.

"They're effective, but they're by no means hardy. It would take three people, at most, to sabotage one. And I'm assuming Pirates will be actively defending them."

"But they're both out in the open..."

The green luminoth interjected again.

"And, they're likely guarded by signal jammers. The Space Pirates may not be able to decode our encryptions, but they're certainly good at preventing communication by... crude methods. They've flooded our satellites with a stream of junk data in order to take up all the usable bandwidth until  _ they _ want to use it."

"So," Steelwing asked, "we can't bridge in?"

Starscream muttered quietly in response.

"And we can't attack from above until those turrets are gone, which means we'll be stuck with a ground attack until then..."

The room went silent, focusing on U-Mos as he drifted forward, seeming as though he wanted to speak. Finally, he turned to A-Scl.

"Could we deploy Quadraxis?"

Her eyes widened slightly in response, and she glanced away as she seemed lost in thought for a moment.

"He already recognizes Pirates as threats, so I see no reason why we couldn't. The problem would be  _ getting _ him there. Obviously we can't use an airdrop, at least not while those turrets are up..."

Megatron finally worked his way back into the conversation, holding his hands behind him as his aura radiated an unwavering determination, like motivation in its purest form.

"As Starscream said, if we cannot use the groundbridge or attack from the air, then we will have to fight on the ground until either the turrets or the scramblers are disabled. This should be the first objective in retaking the mines."

"Wait," J-Syr said, "we can't just attack a ground facility without knowing where their ships are. They could attack from orbit so long as they remain hidden."

"My bigger concern," U-Mos replied, "is their ability to contact Tourian and request backup."

He glanced up at Megatron for a moment.

"Mother Brain, I mean."

The gladiator glanced back at the screen.

"So we need to sever their communications."

The Sentinel of Sanctuary Fortress, I-Kul, gestured toward the screen as she spoke.

"They should have some sort of ground-based command center, with a satellite uplink tower for relaying signals up to their ships, or in this case, our satellites. It just happens to be very fortunate for us that Aether's atmosphere contains too much interference for them to use their regular satellites. They launched a few when they built their base in Agon, but they clearly aren't working."

Although it went unnoticed by the rest of the room, Wheeljack sent a silent message to Ratchet and Arcee.

[So all that lightning is actually good for something, for once.]

They glanced at him momentarily, but neither replied.

Although Soundwave had been listening to the meeting, his mind had drifted somewhat as well, focusing on trying to decrypt the occasional signals to make their way to the satellites. Finally, it seemed as though he'd managed to succeed, and so he abruptly displayed a couple cached messages on the screen, though it took a moment for the ship computers to translate them. The room's occupants again turned to the screen, though Megatron glanced at him for a second, casting him a warm, knowing smile.

 

Subject > Aether Directive

Priority > Prime

From > Tourian Command, Mother Brain

Recipient Class > Unique (see list)   
Received By > Kalkrax III   
Encryption Type > Tourian Command > Science Team > 6A   
Archival Protocol > Do Not Archive

  
Considering the sensitive nature of this mission, commands will continue to be provided as needed. Our intrusion into the Dasha system will likely not be received well by the Galactic Federation or the Luminoth, so it is preferable that this mission be completed swiftly. However, considering our previous failure at Aether, take whatever defensive precautions are necessary.

Do not attack the Luminoth or their 'Transformers' unless provoked.

Penetrate the Leviathan. Sath'xel will provide technical information on what to do once inside.

>>> END

 

Subject > Portals

Priority > High

From > Sath'xel (ID70774JX) [TEMP ACCESS LEVEL]   
Recipient Class > Science Team > Shrikewing Crew

Received By > Kalkrax III, Shrikewing

Encryption Type > None (local)

Archival Protocol > This message will be purged when [Aether Mission: Retrieval] is completed.

 

As previously stated, I'll be providing the technical info for what we do once we get inside the Leviathan. I've attached schematics. Why we couldn't just steal one of the luminoth's portal generators and stick it in the meteor is beyond me.

>>> END

 

"Portal generators?" J-Syr muttered. "They want to reach Dark Aether? Why would they need the Leviathan for that?"

One of the other luminoth replied.

"It could serve as a power source... or maybe they're hoping the dimensional barrier is weaker there. Why would they even  _ want _ to reach Dark Aether?"

"Dark Aether?" Starscream asked. "Is that that dimension you said 'may or may not' exist?"

U-Mos turned to glance at the seeker, but was quickly overcome with horror, his body tensing up as he stared back at the screen.

"Retrieval... It's Dark Samus they're retrieving. They must have found out somehow that I sent her there..."

The room was suddenly filled with a silent dread that lingered over the occupants, seemingly trying to suffocate them. Finally, Megatron broke the silence, his voice and his aura both calm and collected.

"In that case, the importance of driving the Pirates out of Aether has become abundantly clear. Soundwave, are you able to regain control of the satellites?"

[No, we would still need to disable their satellite uplink.]

"Hm."

He seemed to think for a moment, and looked back toward the map still present on the screen.

"Then we have our objective. Once we take out the satellite uplink, they shouldn't be able to communicate between the ground and whatever ships are in orbit, correct?"

U-Mos nodded.

"How many signal jammers do you think there are?"

"It's a function of many of their devices so... a lot."

"Then we form a ground team, approach from the south. Draw out their defenses, try to take out however many scramblers we can, while two small strike teams move in, one to destroy the satellite link, the other to take out the turrets. The moment they're down, we drop Quadraxis on them. Once the scramblers are taken out, we bridge into the mines and hold that position."

Starscream spoke in turn, sounding bored, despite the apprehension in his aura and his engagement in the conversation.

"Three strike teams. One for each turret, and the uplink."

Megatron stared him down, prompting him to elaborate.

"The way I figure it, it would be better to attack both turrets at once, before they have time to regroup. With the way they're placed, there's no way anyone could get from one to the other without being exposed to... whatever the Pirates have planned."

The gladiator's expression softened somewhat, and he gave an approving nod before turning to U-Mos.

"You're sure Quadraxis can work?"

"We'll need air support, but yes."

With that, Megatron glanced back toward Starscream.

"You can handle air support."

The seeker's response to this was, of course, a sly grin. Before Megatron could continue, however, U-Mos interjected again.

"Let us handle the uplink. A team of luminoth will likely not be as... conspicuous."

"That is... probably true," Megatron replied.

The gladiator looked around the room again, seemingly scanning everyone in it. Finally, he pointed toward Typhoon.

"You'll lead the strike team to take down the western turret."

Arcee, resting her head in one hand, let out an almost silent sound; something of a quiet, mocking laugh, as though dismissing that choice. What she obviously did not expect, however, was for Megatron to slowly turn to her, his face contorting into a malicious smirk.

"What was that?" he asked.

While Arcee did return his stare, she hardened her aura into one of furious disinterest.

"It's just that I don't ever recall your people being good at this sort of thing."

Typhoon bolted upright, practically jumping out of her seat and pointing toward the warrior as her arm transformed into a gun.

"Just  _ try  _ me, autobot!"

Megatron glanced back at the black seeker, his eyes suddenly burning with fury.

_ "Quiet, you!" _

Begrudgingly, Typhoon lowered her gun and sat back down, and the gladiator turned back toward Arcee. Ratchet and Wheeljack's auras were both somewhat apprehensive, but they, too, stared at Megatron with something of a defensive determination as he spoke again.

"I accept that you are incredibly... skilled, but I also assumed you would be unwilling to help us, despite the importance of this mission. On the other hand, if you  _ are _ willing to help us, that would be greatly appreciated."

Arcee's eyes narrowed as she stared up at the gladiator, making her suspicion  _ very _ apparent.

"You're a manipulative monster," she said. "Why did I even say anything..."

Megatron grinned, his aura radiating amusement as he replied.

"Because you don't trust us enough to help us, but you also don't trust us to complete a complex mission without your help."

Arcee briefly glanced over at the luminoth who watched her with both interest and confusion, then looked back up at Megatron.

"You're not giving me much of a choice here, are you?"

"On the contrary, I  _ did _ provide you with a choice, and I will respect your decision."

"Then why are you giving me that look?"

"Because I know you  _ want _ to prove yourself."

The warrior turned to Ratchet as her aura grew increasingly aggravated, and she gestured expectantly. The medic, unsure of how to respond, grew stiff, glancing between her and Megatron for a moment before mumbling in response.

"I mean... this  _ is _ an important mission... and you probably  _ would  _ be good at it..."

Arcee let out a groan as she rolled her eyes, then looked over at Wheeljack.

"Hey, aren't high-risk strike missions a wrecker thing?"

"Not when it's helping 'cons."

He glanced at Ratchet, noticing the sudden dismay in his aura; and Arcee, whose expression conveyed something similar, and let out a begrudged sigh before speaking again.

"... But if it means we can outdo all these vehicons... then I guess I'll play along."

Typhoon glared at Wheeljack from across the room, crossing her arms.

"We'll see about that..."

Megatron held his hands behind him again, his posture returning to one of tranquility. He glanced toward the autobots, and for a moment his expression softened, his eyes somehow conveying genuine respect briefly before he spoke.

"Then I suppose Wheeljack and Arcee will take the western turret, leaving Typhoon and Steelwing to take the eastern turret. The remaining troops will launch the main assault. Any questions?"

U-Mos floated up beside Megatron, speaking to the whole of the room as well.

"We will again fight proudly beside you, given that there is more than just these mines at stake."

He and the gladiator briefly exchanged glances, before Megatron held out a hand.

"Go then, prepare for battle."

A certain electricity seemed to fill the room as its occupants all got up and began to shuffle out one by one, each with purpose, determination, pride. It was with no less determination or purpose that Soundwave and Shockwave soon left, making their way back to the lab side by side, but as usual, they remained silent. When they stepped into the room, they each gravitated toward their corner of the room, hardly realizing that they had left Aftershock there until she crawled out from one of the cabinets and, drowsily, meandered over to grab onto Soundwave's leg. He stared down at her, and briefly a flood of thoughts surged through his mind.

While every decepticon alive had either been born into a horrible world, or one consumed by war, here was perhaps the only cybertronian in existence who had never seen war, or death, or injustice. Soundwave was the progenitor of a new generation entirely, one that had the chance of creating a better world rather than destroying one.

 

He reached down, lifting the scorpling up into his arms and, for a minute, just staring into her violet eyes.

The Space Pirates were trying to defile the sanctity of their new home, trying to bring chaos and destruction to tear open the scars of war. And for Aftershock's sake, that was something Soundwave could not allow to happen.

He would murder every Pirate in existence with his bare hands if it meant his daughter never had to witness it.

 

"Will you be doing surveillance?" Shockwave asked from across the room. It took a moment for Soundwave to snap back to reality and glance over at him.

[Yes. Why?]

"A-Scl asked me to assist them with preparing Quadraxis."

The scientist stepped over to him, gazing at Aftershock, much to her delight. For a moment, all three of their auras mingled in warmth and affection, but finally Shockwave's seemed to disappear, as though he could simply turn off his emotions with a simple switch.

"What do we do with her?"

The scorpling grabbed onto one of the points of Soundwave's mask, trying to move his head.

"I want to go to the temple..."

[Not today. Not right now.]

"Why?"

A sudden sickness swept over Soundwave's spark, filling his aura with despair and dread, to the point where Aftershock's antennae folded back in dismay, and Shockwave stared at him, silently asking him what was wrong. He stared at the scientist as he responded solely to him.

[I thought we'd found peace here...]

The switch that controlled Shockwave's emotions must have been tripped, given that his aura was suddenly filled with exactly the same kind of dread that Soundwave felt. Now being smothered by two distressed auras, Aftershock's retreated inward, burning with anxiety.

Rather than saying anything, the scientist drew closer, holding Soundwave to him with his gun arm. He held his hand to the side of the scorpling's head, petting her gently as she gnawed nervously on one of her fingers. After a moment, she muttered quietly.

"Sorry..."

[No,] Soundwave said, [we're not upset at you.]

"Really?"

[Yes, we just...]

His aura burned as he tried to figure out what to say. How was he supposed to explain this? He didn't even want to mention the Pirates, let alone the fact that they'd be leaving her to go kill them. Fortunately, Shockwave spoke in his stead.

"We love you."

The scientist's aura suddenly disappeared again, replaced with a quiet tranquility; one that slowly consumed Soundwave, quelling the fear from his mind and replacing it with emotionless determination.

That would work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy shit well that ending came out of nowhere and somehow spawned feels. My actual thought process was 'well, I'm not at my word count yet, so why don't I write about lab stuff because I haven't had enough Soundwave/Shockwave in this so far.'
> 
> I finally had to draw a friggin map because I'm partially bound by Metroid canon, and also I literally had no idea where the Voulge or Javelin were geographically because I haven't mentioned them. Actually I drew two, one regional map, one globe map. Both suck, but they convey what they need to convey.  
> And I finally got to use the word "ancillary" in a sentence. I don't think you realize how long I've just been itching to use that word, for some reason.
> 
> I summarize the phrase "she hardened her aura into one of furious disinterest" as "not only do I not give a fuck, I'm actively withholding fucks."


	5. Light and Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just one of the songs I used - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_6cZzjfjSs  
> It's weird how I've been listening to a bunch of Unreal Tournament songs given that I've never actually played it. Well, I've played UT 2004 once at an event. But that doesn't count.
> 
> This is going to sound really weird, but there's a part of me who's just a fan of this story and wants to see things unfold. And that part kept telling me that it's been too long since I've posted a chapter. So last night I pressured myself into finally writing a bit. But I needed to sleep so I did that and then finished the chapter today.

On the other side of Aether, a heavy rain battered the ground as flashes of lightning occasionally lit the night sky. The Leviathan stood as something of a monolith, like an entire mountain laced with energon, dwarfing the small temporary Pirate camp set at its base. Dull gray machinery littered the area near the entrance, whatever color it had washed out by floodlights set up around the perimeter, creating a glowing fog around the command post. Arcee and Wheeljack stood side by side in what was left of a small building along the rim of the crater. It clearly had succumbed to the Pirate bombardment, and probably an ensuing fire. Only one small corner of the roof remained, as did its brick walls, which shielded them from most of the rain, but as gusts of wind blew at them from outside, it carried with it rain they had no way to avoid.

They stared out at the base in silence, watching as Pirates strolled about, clad in dense armor, weapons drawn, unaware that among the rubble around the crater lingered hundreds of decepticons, waiting for the signal to strike. Arcee and Wheeljack in particular were a good distance from the main group, considering they'd be approaching from a different angle than the others. As such, they lingered in the cold rain, silent, at least until Arcee glanced up at Wheeljack.

"How much do you want to bet that Megatron sent us up here just to keep us out of the way? Like his vehicons will take out the towers and we'll just be up here getting rained on?"

The wrecker glanced down at her as he replied.

"What, so he wouldn't jump on the chance to kill us? Why'd you agree to this anyway?"

"Ah... I don't know. I just..."

She crossed her arms, staring off into the crater.

"Ratchet actually trusts him," she continued. "But it was the  _ luminoth _ ... I don't know why, but they..."

She trailed off, her and Wheeljack both turning their attention toward the wave of vehicons that started to pour down into the crater. Lightning flashed, momentarily lifting the shroud of darkness that hung in the air, revealing the hundreds of vehicons and insecticons that began to jump from the rocky ledge, each landing in craters of their own. They charged forward, hardly seeming to hesitate, even as the Pirates started to notice them, scrambling their own forces and starting to fire upon the decepticons.

Arcee withdrew her aura as she watched, coming to a realization. She had killed many,  _ many _ vehicons in the past, and had barely spared a thought for their lives. She had considered them enemies, and had done what was necessary to eliminate them. But part of her always wondered why they had joined the decepticons, considering how Megatron seemed to consider them disposable. But that wasn't the truth, was it?

As she watched them charge ahead, through the rain and gunfire, she realized that the force that motivated them was all too familiar to her. After all, had she not risked her life for the autobots countless times before? Had she not been there with them, charging into the front lines, facing an uncertain future, all for the cause? The vehicons were no less devoted to their faction as she was to her own, and yet she still had slain them without remorse.

Who, then, had truly considered them disposable?

Wheeljack glanced toward her, noticing the horrible guilt that suddenly filled her aura. He was about to speak, when their comm links came to life with a message from Soundwave.

[Go now. Your path is clear.]

With that, the two met each other's gaze, Wheeljack's aura filled with hesitation. Arcee let out a sigh as she glanced back toward the growing battle.

"Ugh, call me crazy but... I think this is the right thing to do."

"You're crazy. More than me. And that's saying something."

The warrior rolled her eyes, then glanced back up at Wheeljack with a hint of a smile.

"Then let's at least go blow up a giant gun."

" _ Now _ you're speaking my language."

 

With that, the two jumped from the ledge, landing in the crater and transforming, driving around toward the Leviathan, hoping to approach the Pirate base from behind. Lightning struck the meteor, the near-deafening snap echoing through the crater several times, gradually fading to a menacing roar. The veins of energon visible in the meteor seemed to absorb the lightning, in a sense, glowing white near the top of the mountain, then transferring this energy elsewhere, resulting in a wave pulsing through the meteor; one presumably of raw power.

The two drove across the soil which, having already been saturated by rain, now became a layer of muddy slop eager to stick to anything that touched it. Nonetheless, as they finally reached the perimeter of the base, they transformed, drawing their weapons and gazing over the metal wall, trying to see what they could see of the battle on the other side of the base. The view was obscured by the mist and glare, but the anti-aircraft turret stood out among the mess of machinery and barriers, towering above everything else except the other turret. After a moment, however, something else rose into view; namely a gunship, which promptly began firing upon the encroaching vehicons. Arcee glanced toward Wheeljack, who replied with a silent nod, and they climbed over the wall, running toward the turret. Immediately, several pirates who'd been working near the entrance to the mines began firing at them, and Arcee momentarily turned to shoot at them, though she quickly turned her focus back to the turret. Wheeljack, however, stopped for a moment, grabbing what was presumably a generator of some sort from the ground beside him and throwing it toward several of the pirates. As the wires connected to it snapped off, the floodlight nearest to them shut off, plunging the area in relative darkness as he turned to catch up with Arcee. Gunshots soon struck the ground around them, having come from another gunship that now loomed above them. For a moment, they both stopped, pointing their weapons toward it. Arcee turned, starting to sprint toward the turret, only to find it rotating on its base, its massive barrels pointing  _ down _ at them.

"Oh, you're fragging-"

The ground erupted in gunfire around Arcee as she started to run, her vision clouded by the rain and mud and fire thrown up into the air. Suddenly, even the snap of lightning striking the meteor was washed away in the sound of the turret as it fired. Explosions rocked the ground around her at a ceaseless, rapidfire pace, until one finally struck her.

Well, it might have been several. She couldn't really tell. She flew through the air for a moment, hitting something metal as she tumbled ungracefully to the ground. She merely laid there for a moment, dazed and shaking, until she heard the turret begin firing again. With that, she jolted upright, hardly noticing that she was now covered in mud. Where had Wheeljack gone?

Her question was soon answered by his vehicle mode in the distance, frantically trying to escape the torrent of gunfire that chased him. No sooner did Arcee manage to get to her feet, however, than the second turret began to rotate just as the first did, pointing away from her and firing downward, presumably toward the decepticons who'd been approaching it.

A pirate beside her started to fire toward her, but she merely had to fire a few shots from her own blasters for him to slump to the ground, motionless. Much like the humans, it seemed, the Space Pirates were much more dangerous when aided by their machines. After a moment, the warrior started to run back toward the turret, only for it to stop firing at Wheeljack, and begin to turn toward her. She dove forward and transformed, hoping to take cover, at least for a moment. Gunfire soon erupted around her again, but she continued driving, weaving between massive generators and floodlights and odd pieces of gray machinery, trying to meander back toward the turret. However, just as had happened the first time, either one or several shots struck her, sending her flying.

This time as she hit the ground, she let out a cry of pain, clutching one of her arms as she laid on the ground. Her body ached as she turned to look up at the sky, watching as lightning again struck the Leviathan, sending waves of white energy through the energon contained within it, looking like light refracting through water.

How were they supposed to get to the turret?

"Arcee!"

The warrior turned her head upon hearing the voice, glancing over to find Typhoon hiding behind several massive crates, her red lights really the only part of her visible in the shadows. Begrudgingly, Arcee pulled herself up, though she tried to stay as low to the ground as she could in order to maybe stay hidden. Similarly, Typhoon inched toward her, until they met behind a cluster of pipes, the air filled with the sound of turret gunfire. Typhoon glanced around for a moment, then looked toward Arcee. Even though they were just feet from each other, she still had to shout in order to be even remotely audible.

"Where's the other one? What's his name?"

"Wheeljack and I got split up. I can't call him."

Typhoon lifted herself up for a moment, staring over the pipe machinery, gesturing to someone in the distance before lowering back down to cover.

"Steelwing's on his way. We need to find Wheeljack... We have to do this together..."

Just then, one of the turrets stopped, and both mechs glanced out from their cover, finding it to be the one firing at Steelwing. No sooner did the first one stop, however, than the second did as well.

The sounds of pounding rain and thunder sounded like the void of silence in comparison. Arcee finally managed to catch her breath, just enough to glance out from cover again.

"Wheeljack!" she yelled.

From their other side, Steelwing soon crawled over to them, trying as well to stay hidden.

"Oh, those turrets will be  _ easy _ to take out, he said... two people can manage it  _ just fine _ ..."

Arcee let out something of a forced laugh, more from aggravation than amusement.

"Glad to see I'm not the only one that was feeling overwhelmed."

"Where's Wheeljack?"

"I don't know."

"Well..." Typhoon muttered, "hopefully three people is enough."

"Enough to take out  _ two _ of those things?"

Typhoon seemed lost in thought for a moment.

"If we... can get out past the perimeter... and then approach from the right angle, only one of them will be able to attack us."

"And then what?" Steelwing asked. "We've only been getting attacked by one turret at a time so far. What's three people versus two?"

The air went quiet for a moment -- except, of course, for the sounds of battle in the distance. Something caught Arcee's attention, and she turned, pointing her guns forward, only to find something white retreating back from behind a corner.

"Wheeljack?" she asked. After a moment, the wrecker pulled himself around the corner, and Arcee lowered her guns with a relieved sigh. It was Wheeljack, however, who spoke first as he approached.

"I thought these turrets were supposed to be a two-person thing?"

"Yeah," Steelwing replied. "That's what I thought too."

"Okay..." Typhoon muttered. "So how do we do this?"

One of the turrets began firing, causing the four to reflexively lower themselves even further to the ground, almost pressing themselves into the mud. Given that the ensuing gunfire wasn't anywhere nearby, however, Steelwing looked out over the machinery, just as the second turret started firing as well.

"They're firing up front."

Typhoon slammed her hand down on the ground beside her.

"Scrap!"

"We have to stay in cover for as long as we can," Arcee said. "Move up... take out anyone we can see... then hope we can reach the turrets before they notice."

Wheeljack replied, clearly hesitant. "Uhh, I don't know if you've noticed, but... stealth isn't really my thing."

"Would you rather serve as bait then?"

"Not bait, a decoy."

"That was a rhetorical question."

"I know, but I'm being serious. Someone has to draw their fire. Might as well be me."

"No," Typhoon replied. "You'll just get yourself killed."

"Well," Steelwing said, "they're not slow to aim, but maybe if we all approach from far enough apart, one of us can get to it and detonate the fuel."

Arcee let out a hesitant sigh. "Well, that's the least stupid idea I've heard so far, for whatever that's worth."

"Fine," Typhoon said. "Which turret?"

Several shots rained down from above, and the group looked up to find that one of the gunships had returned, and now loomed above them. Wheeljack was the first to fire, though the other three soon got to their feet.

"Which turret!?" Typhoon yelled. Steelwing responded as he, too, started firing upon the gunship.

"East! Go!"

With that, Arcee transformed, driving as fast as she could through the base and out through a gap in the perimeter wall, making a wide arc around the turret. Momentarily she watched what she could see of the fight occurring to the south, at least until the eastern turret stopped firing, and started to rotate toward her. Several missiles flew up from the ground, hitting the gunship from below, sending it spinning and falling toward the ground. The turret briefly pointed toward her, but continued rotating, and finally started firing toward someone else within the base. With a sharp turn, she swung toward the turret, every instinct in her telling her to run, to leave, to let the decepticons handle their own problems. But something else still held sway, and so she once again found herself driving straight at the turret as it soon stopped firing, and turned toward her. She sped up as much as she could, given the fact that she had hardly any traction on ground this slippery, and aimed toward another gap in the perimeter wall. The turret began to fire, and she was able to feel the shockwaves of the shots as they struck the ground just behind her, and slowly encroached toward her. Just as she slipped through the perimeter, the shots finally caught up to her, and she briefly lost consciousness.

Arcee was jolted awake by the sound of the turret starting to fire again, although it took her a moment to remember what was going on. As she stared toward the turret this time, however, she was able to make out the canisters of energon beneath it, presumably the ones that needed to be detonated. She sat upright, aiming one of her blasters toward the sliver of blue she could see, and started firing. After only six shots, she noticed the blue in her line of sight turn to white. Not a second later, the top of the turret burst apart, the force of the blast sending chunks of the tower flying through the air. Arcee barely managed to throw herself to the ground and cover her head before getting hit with shrapnel; pieces of metal striking her armor, some merely bouncing off, some accompanied by stinging pain as they cut through her armor. After a moment, she finally got back to her feet, staring toward the second turret as it rotated on its base, aiming toward someone.

Primus... what had she gotten herself into...?

Lightning again struck the tip of the meteor as Arcee transformed and started off toward the second turret, practically ignoring the stray space pirates who occasionally shot at her with their meager blasters. She again weaved between massive structures and metal walls, her focus fixated on the tower, and she merely watched as it continued firing. Just as she was about to drive into the clearing around the turret, however, it stopped, and swung toward her. But of course, there was no way she was going to let herself get hit again. She sped up, driving straight toward the tower, at least until it began firing in front of her, forcing her to swerve around the blasts. But it followed, blocking her path, and so she found herself driving around the tower in a wide arc, unable to get any closer. She did manage to stay just out of range of the shots, however, altering her speed at times to throw off their aim. That was probably the minimum range the turrets had, so if someone else could get just a bit closer...

Wheeljack appeared on the other side of the clearing all of a sudden, driving straight toward the tower just as Arcee did. And, in mere seconds, the turret, without even ceasing fire, swiveled around to instead shoot toward the wrecker. Arcee took her chance, swinging inward toward the turret, watching as Wheeljack was soon repelled by the gunfire just as she had been. Arcee transformed, sliding across the ground as she drew her blasters, just able to see enough of the turret's power source to be able to fire toward it. And, just as had happened the first time, she only had to fire several times for the energon to detonate, taking the second turret with it. She again pressed herself to the ground, trying to shield herself as much as she could from the ensuing rain of shrapnel that followed. After several moments of relative quiet, she finally sat up, able to hear as Wheeljack drove toward her and transformed.

"You okay?"

The wrecker extended a hand, and Arcee took it, letting him pull her to her feet.

"Yeah," she said, her growing fatigue starting to become noticeable. "Though I'll probably be picking bits of shrapnel out of my armor for the next week."

"Yup. Been there."

A green dot appeared in the air above the rim of the crater, recognizable as a groundbridge by the hue of its familiar glow, and the fact that a myriad of aircraft soon flew through it. Arcee and Wheeljack merely watched, soon joined by Typhoon and Steelwing, as Starscream and his vehicons started bombarding the more heavily reinforced side of the base from above. Trailing them some distance was a collection of green aircraft, flying in formation, carrying what must have been Quadraxis strung between them. The pirates clearly began turning their attention to this, considering that they began shooting up at the metal form. Nonetheless, the luminoth ships continued, their own floodlights obscuring Quadraxis in glare, and flew over the base. Finally, the cords suspending the form were disconnected, dropping the metal box to the ground. Thunder echoed through the crater again as Quadraxis began to move, panels folding out from its compressed state, legs starting to unfurl, its body rising from the ground. It emitted a metallic whir as its head swiveled around, facing the source of the gunshots that struck it from below. A red laser seemed to track one of the space pirates, and finally the mechanoid opened fire, sending a barrage of missiles downward.

After a moment, the static that filled the air started to calm, and voiced started to become audible over the comm link.

"-already inside. We have-... groundbridge-..."

"What!?"

[Groundbridge is active.]

The next voice was now positively identifiable as Megatron's.

"Let Quadraxis handle this. Anyone who can hear me, get to the groundbridge!"

With that, the four who'd been watching the colossal construct exchanged glances, then each transformed and took off toward the front of the base.

As Arcee drove, this time without anyone shooting at her, she realized that most of the structures that surrounded her were entirely constructed by the space pirates in little more than a few hours. How was that even possible? They'd set up generators, energon pipes, perimeter  _ and _ internal fences, and two turrets that were  _ not _ to be trifled with... all in the span of time it took for the decepticons to notice their presence on the planet, gather everyone to form a plan, and almost immediately execute said plan. When she'd first heard that the decepticons had struggled to fight these beings before, she'd assumed it was due to decepticon incompetence, but now...

The groundbridge portal just outside the base finally became visible, and so Arcee swung around the lingering firefight centered around Quadraxis to reach it, transforming once she did so.

The portal led to a massive, roundish chamber, presumably inside the meteor, given the fact that the rock walls were entirely impregnated with energon. The whole of the room, in fact, glowed a dim blue. Arcee stepped forward, joining the crowd of vehicons as they stood, watching what was taking place before them.

In the center of the chamber was a gargantuan ball of... something. She could only assume it was a portal, as the pirates had supposedly been trying to build, but this looked nothing like any portal she'd ever seen. It looked as though an energy shield surrounded something that poured a deep purple, almost black smoke from its core. Like conflicting forces fought in the center, this smoke billowed from parts of the sphere, only to be drawn back into the center, then erupting out again, like a tumultuous sea. Purple electricity sparked through the sphere at times, briefly illuminating the cloud of darkness. Several pirates stood in front of the sphere, staring up at Megatron, and the luminoth that stood or hovered by his side.

"It can't be shut off now," one of the pirates said. Just then, a loud crack echoed through the chamber, and the energon that filled the walls flickered white as a wave of energy pulsed through it, then reflected back, then echoed again, causing the room as a whole to flicker and pulse and gradually dim, just as calm water did when disturbed. The black cloud in the center of the room was briefly lit by sparks of blue energy as they jumped from the walls of the chamber to the center of the sphere, and in turn, the entire abomination seemed to grow just slightly larger. The pirate that had spoken before did once more.

"That's why. The portal's powered by the Leviathan, and every time it gets struck by lightning, that dimensional barrier weakens even more. There's nothing you can do now."

"So you believe," U-Mos said. "You forget that the luminoth are masters of both dimensions."

"So that's why you had to have Samus come and save you?"

Megatron drew his blade, pointing it down at the pirates.

"Look around you. You're vastly outnumbered, and you have nowhere to run. I highly suggest you abandon your mission while you still can."

"You're wrong..." one of the other pirates said. "You can't stop the Dark Hunter. When she comes, your mechanoids won't mean anything. Even Quadraxis, even your Transformers, won't be able to save you."

J-Syr, clad in metallic armor, wielding a large hammer in both hands, drifted forward slightly as she hovered.

"You think  _ we _ built them?"

The pirates exchanged glances for a moment, seemingly confused, before another loud bang echoed through the room, lightning pulsing through the walls, feeding the portal even more. This time, however, the purple lightning within the cloud seemed to intensify, sparking more rapidly, just as the churning cloud grew even more violent in its endless swirling.

"See," U-Mos said, "it's already starting to grow unstable."

The pirates glanced back at the massive sphere behind them, then back toward the Sentinel.

"It doesn't matter! When our mistress comes-"

"I will send her back there as many times as I need to."

Megatron's aura flared with determination as he spoke.

"And we will defend this planet as many times as we need to. You may throw away your lives coming here, believing you can conquer Aether, but never again will we allow you to defile the peace we've found here. In trying to take this world once before, your kind only managed to forge our alliance with the luminoth, and in this attempt you've only served to strengthen it. I am inclined to let you few live, for only this reason:"

The gladiator knelt down, staring down at the space pirates, his voice quieting.

"Tell Mother Brain of your failures. Tell her Aether is beyond her reach. Tell her that your precious Dark Hunter will spend her immortal life as a prisoner, locked in a dimension to which only we have the keys. And tell her... that if a single space pirate dares to even set foot upon this world again... that we will find her... and  _ destroy _ her."

The air was quiet for a moment as Megatron got back on his feet, at least until another lightning strike caused the portal in the center of the room began to churn even faster.

"We have to get out of here," U-Mos said. "Soundwave?"

In merely a few seconds, a groundbridge appeared just outside the chamber, presumably far enough away that it didn't interfere with whatever was going on in the center of the room. The luminoth all turned to leave, followed in turn by the vehicons, but Megatron remained for a moment, continuing to stare down at the space pirates before his gaze returned to the portal. Yet another lightning strike hit the meteor, and the portal began to emit a shrill, staticky sound as purple energy sparked from it, reaching out toward the walls of the chamber, causing an ominous shaking to permeate the meteor. Finally, Megatron turned to walk toward the groundbridge.

"It seems even your presumed savior has failed you."

Rocks began to fall from the ceiling as the last of the room's occupants all began to shuffle out of the room, heading toward the groundbridge in the entryway. Arcee turned to walk out as well, but stopped for a moment, just staring back at the space pirates who remained where they stood, gazing up at the portal. Weren't they going to retreat as well?

Just then, as another lightning bolt permeated into the Leviathan, the portal collapsed, then burst outward again, growing into a black orb in the center of the room. The pirates hardly had time to react before they were pulled into the singularity, as was the very air around them. Arcee turned and ran without a second thought, as did everyone else who remained in the room. The rocks around them trembled as gravity started to shift, making it feel as though the short distance to the groundbridge was growing into a steeper and steeper uphill climb, until all Arcee could do was to claw helplessly at the ground, desperately trying to grab onto something as the singularity dragged her across what was once the floor. The walls of the chamber began to fold inward, massive boulders were ripped from the ground, tumbling down into the abyss below. Arcee glanced up, watching as even Starscream, in his jet form, struggled to fight his way upward out of the gravity well, especially given the torrent of rocks and boulders that sped past him. Finally, just as the seeker found himself sinking back toward the black hole, the very rocks that Arcee had been desperately holding onto broke away, sending her falling helplessly toward the dark maw below her, just as it seemed the entire meteor was doing the same thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. It's weird how at first the inclusion of Arcee was a novel concept, like "you know, I could actually do that." Then being me, I devote an entire chapter to her perspective.  
> 2\. Lightning makes the magic phazon magic the dark magic more magically. Or something.  
> 3\. Lightning doesn't strike the same place twice. It strikes the same place like fifteen times.  
> 4\. I finally got to use Steelwing and Typhoon for slightly more than transition filler.  
> 5\. Actually while I was planning this chapter out in my head, I loved the image of airdropping Quadraxis at night in the rain so much that I drew... something completely different. My idea of the luminoth gunships that carried it. http://xenargon.tumblr.com/post/184023374999/fanfiction-yet-again-this-is-supposed-to-be-a
> 
> Metroid continuity notes:  
> In Echoes, Samus gets a weapon that lets her make dark energy-powered black holes [See Darkburst].  
> In Corruption there's a section on Bryyo where you have to disable some anti-aircraft guns and it's probably my least favorite part of the game because it's such a pain. You're stuck in a giant pit and you have to pull four different levers to reveal the weak spot I think, but there are respawning aerotroopers who go and pull the levers back the other way.


	6. Under

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I lied. You get one Arcee-centric chapter, and I'll give you a second one free.  
> This chapter is loosely based on a dream I had.

The muffled sound of falling rocks finally drove Arcee to consciousness. She laid rather awkwardly, face down on some uncomfortable floor, one of her legs somewhat sore, the other completely numb. A lingering haze still clouded her mind, trying to ease her back to the tranquility of sleep, but something else struggled underneath it, urging her to get up...  _ get up! _

Begrudgingly, she at least tried to shift her posture, only to quickly realize that something held onto her, leaving her immobilized. In an instant, the fatigue in her mind vanished, replaced by a jolt of fear as she opened her eyes to find that she was trapped under solid rock. She tried to move, finding one of her arms mobile enough to at least rotate, sending some of the rocks on it falling away. She shoved at something, probably pushing a larger rock to one side, and a cascade of gravel tumbled off of her, setting free her right arm and allowing her to lift her head slightly. Of course, all she could see around her was just more rock, lit only by the glow of her own eyes.

What had even... happened? How was she still alive at all? She remembered falling toward that black hole, but had she actually gone through it? Where was everyone?

The fear of uncertainty began to well up within her as she gazed around at her confinement, but she had to smother it.

This was just a mission gone wrong. She'd been buried in a cave-in before, and managed to free herself before... no reason why she couldn't do the same thing again.

She reached over with her free arm, sweeping piles of rocks and gravel off of her other, the sound echoing in the tiny space amongst the otherwise quiet air. Gradually the weight on her left arm lifted, allowing her to move it just slightly... just enough...

As she finally pulled her left arm free, a sizeable rock that had rested its weight on it dropped, revealing to its side a small gap through which something silver was visible. Arcee started to push aside the gravel that had piled up around her as much as she could, reaching toward the gap and pulling rocks back, to find Starscream lying motionless on the other side.

He had been buried lying on his back, one hand resting up by his head, his face turned away. Why wasn't this discovery comforting in any way?

The answer to that question was obvious. Arcee had wanted him dead for a  _ long _ time, not just for the myriad of atrocities he'd committed during the war, but specifically for the murder of Cliffjumper.

In that sense, Arcee had more reason to kill Starscream than she did Megatron.

Still, she'd somehow managed to suppress that vengeful urge up until now, and if Starscream was her only possible help in this scenario, then it was in her best interest that he remain alive... for now.

"Starscream?"

He didn't move, and so Arcee turned her attention back to her own predicament for a moment, trying in vain to pull herself out from under the rocks that pinned the rest of her body down. On second thought, the fact that she couldn't feel one of her legs was actually a terrible sign...

She tried to twist, to pull, to move  _ something _ , but nothing seemed to happen. She reached back as much as she could, trying to maybe push away whatever was on top of her, only to find that a rather large, single boulder rested on her lower back.

She glanced over at the seeker again, briefly wondering if he would be able to help her at all, or if he was even still alive. She called him again, but again he didn't move.

It took a more determined effort this time to quiet the anxiety that started to grow in her mind.

Well... if she couldn't move the rocks, maybe she could at least break them. She transformed one of her arms into a blaster, and while it was  _ incredibly _ awkward, she reached back behind her head as much as she could and started firing at whatever was there. The gunshots were shrill and painfully loud compared to the relative quiet of the small cave, but that was unimportant.

After several shots, she heard something crack, then shift. But rather than shifting so that the rocks could fall away from her, the weight pressing down on her back grew even stronger, such that she could hardly take a full breath. Panic started to well up within her, despite all her efforts to shuffle it away, and she clawed at the ground, desperately trying to worm her way out from underneath the rocks. She started gasping, hardly able to inhale any of the dusty air around her, and her gaze once again focused on the form lying beside her.

"Starscream!"

He didn't respond. She reached out, trying to grab his hand, but she wasn't quite able to reach him. Finally, mostly out of panic, she scooped up a handful of gravel and flung it at him. Most of the pebbles scattered off through the cave, but several pieces struck his head and bounced off, and finally his fingers twitched, then went still again.

He  _ was _ alive. Most of Arcee's panicked mind was suddenly grateful for that fact, while the small remainder was disgusted that she could ever think such a thing.

"Starscream, please..."

She grabbed another handful of rocks and threw them at him, one in particular sounding much heavier than the rest of the pebbles when it hit the seeker's head. Starscream let out a quiet, partially conscious moan, his fingers curling into a fist, and he just barely opened his eyes. He seemed to glance around for a moment, then turned his head to face Arcee.

On the side of his face that she had not been able to see was a large, deep gash, cutting across the side of his head, across his right eye all the way to the side of his mouth. It was less of a cut, and more like a piece of his head has been grinded down, through layers of metal, revealing some of the circuitry components in his head.

_ That _ wasn't good.

Starscream stared blankly at the warrior, saying nothing, hardly moving at all, prompting Arcee to speak first.

"Can you move at all?"

As though the question took a great deal of effort to unravel, Starscream slowly glanced around, looking down at himself, then rather easily slipped his arms from their gravelly restraints, and started shoving aside the rocks that laid on top of him. His aura was neutral, his eyes blank, and he still remained silent.

"Starscream..." Arcee muttered. "Are you..."

The seeker again turned his head to face her. His expression was completely blank, as though she had been speaking some sort of foreign language. After a moment, he reached over, pulling away some of the rocks still blocking the small window between them, then turned back to digging himself free.

Despite the nature of the scenario, Arcee finally started to calm down as she watched the seeker pushing piles of gravel and rocks off of him, slowly uncovering his chest. Obviously, Starscream was not fine, but he was able to tell what was going on, and that was all Arcee needed. In fact, it might have been something of a blessing that he couldn't speak, given that his personality was intolerable.

... Well, that might have been a bit harsh. After all, he  _ had _ saved Arcee's life once before, even though his motivation for doing so was something to do with repayment. But he had still murdered Cliffjumper.

... Of course, the warrior had unapologetically killed countless decepticons throughout the past, so was she really any better? The thought suddenly weighed on her, almost moreso than the boulder actively crushing her. This was not the first time she and Starscream had been caught in a cave-in, and last time, she'd left him alone to hold up a ceiling on his own. He hadn't even  _ done _ anything, and she'd left him in the very situation in which she now found herself. If Starscream had retained all his... mental faculties this time around, would he do the same thing to her?

Despite how much she wanted to believe otherwise, she knew that no, he wouldn't do that. He  _ would _ find a way to use the situation to his advantage, like demanding something in return for helping her dig herself free, but he wouldn't just leave her to die like she had done. He was cold and callous, but he wouldn't commit any such atrocity without first setting a price for mercy. And, to their credit, he and Megatron always seemed to uphold these agreements.

... But he had still murdered Cliffjumper.

The very thought caused her spark to ache. She had been tempted to go with Ratchet when he was exiled from Iacon, but her main reason for refraining was Starscream, because of what he'd done to Cliffjumper.

Arcee slammed her hand down on the ground in front of her, burying her face in her arms.

"Damn it Starscream,  _ why'd _ I have to get stuck with  _ you!?" _

She glanced up, finding the seeker staring at her with a bewildered expression, having frozen in place. She swiped at the ground, scooping up a handful of gravel, which she flung at him.

"Don't give me that look!"

Starscream reflexively held up a hand to block the gravel, then stared back at her. After a moment, Arcee, with a sweep of her arm, sent dust and dirt and rocks flying throughout the cave, before finally returning the stare.

"You don't even understand anything I'm saying, do you?  _ Why _ did I fragging do this at all, huh? Some moth people give me that innocent look, and I agree to put up with all this scrap for you, and  _ this  _ is where I end up!? Wheeljack was right, wasn't he, you're all just trying to-"

Arcee started to try to move again, managing to reach back and just barely push on one of the rocks holding her down. As one of these shards fell away, she briefly felt the weight on her back lift; just enough to pull herself forward slightly before a much larger boulder came tumbling down, and the weight returned.

She would have screamed, had the weight not been enough to suffocate her. She swore she could  _ feel _ her armor warping from the pressure as her body was suddenly being crushed. Every other thought from her mind disappeared in an instant, and she clawed at the ground again, digging cuts into the ground as she desperately tried to pull herself free, before finally glancing over at the seeker with wide, panicked eyes, reaching toward him.

Starscream just continued to stare at her for a moment in his silent confusion, before something seemed to click. His aura was suddenly flooded with a sense of urgency, and he looked back down at the rocks that still laid on top of him, slashing with his claws several times, sending stones cascading back down onto him. But each time, he managed to free himself just a bit more, his mangled wings becoming visible as he pulled them out of a layer of gravel. Finally, he twisted himself around, reaching one of his arms through the gap that separated them, and primed its missile. Arcee just barely managed to turn her face away before he fired.

So this was how she was going to die.

The burst felt like a full-body impact, as though she'd been thrown at something. The sound was horrible enough that close to her, but even more terrifying was the sound of cascading rocks that followed, of stones scraping and moving and settling, unrelenting and unforgiving. She hardly even noticed that, for a brief moment, she had been able to move. She could hear as slabs of stone were fractured from the blast, but she didn't dare open her eyes. All she could do was remain where she laid, curled up on her side, her head buried in her arms, the horrible groan of moving rock echoing around her, the air thick with dust.

... It took a moment for her to even realize that she was still alive. Her whole body trembled, and she flinched at the sound of every spare rock that fell around her as the cascade finally slowed. She opened her eyes finally, finding herself completely entombed in rock. She started gasping for air, despite the pain that now wracked her body with every breath as she tried to move, not even sure which direction to be digging, if she even could. The weight pressing down on her was less than it was before, but this was almost more terrifying. She couldn't so much as move her hands, even as she heard rocks shuffling somewhere nearby. After a moment, however, she felt the seeker's aura above her, and yelled out.

"Starscream, please-!"

He clearly started digging after a minute, but even though Arcee knew this, she still couldn't help but cringe every time she heard the sound of moving rocks. She tried to slow her breathing, to calm herself down, to put up that wall of fearlessness she had in battle, but this wasn't like any battle she'd ever been in. It didn't make sense, because this wasn't the first time she'd been caught in a mine collapse either. But somehow, this felt completely different. She'd been in plenty of bad situations before; of missions gone wrong, where she found herself vastly outnumbered, or injured, or even captured. Hell, she'd been tortured before, and while she had certainly had times where she thought she might not live... nothing compared to this. It wasn't the pain that did it, so much as it was the sheer helplessness she found herself in. The thought that she would remain fully conscious as she died, while wholly unable to do a thing about it...

She could hear the scraping getting closer, and she could feel the weight gradually lifting, but it wasn't until she felt metal brush against her arm that she finally opened her eyes again, finding a dim light streaming through from between the rocks. She finally managed to lift her head, to push herself up, at least slightly. Starscream rested beside the hole he'd dug, and he reached down toward her, offering his hand.

Arcee stared up at him, frozen, as a thousand different thoughts converged on her all at once. Here was someone she genuinely hated, someone she had desperately wanted to kill, who had ruined her life in more ways than she could even remember... who had just saved her life. Here was someone who had tortured her in the past, who had tormented her, yet had just gone out of his way to help her.

Suddenly she understood how Ratchet could now trust the decepticons.

She reached up, grabbing onto Starscream's arm just as he did hers, and he started to pull back, lifting Arcee from her rocky tomb. Her whole body was flooded with pain suddenly, but slowly she climbed up, almost dragging herself out of the hole in the floor, until finally she found herself free, and collapsed on the ground beside the seeker, the panic in her mind finally starting to subside.

It was then that she noticed that Starscream's legs were both horribly mangled and bleeding, one moreso than the other. She looked down at her own legs, finding both to be at least mostly intact, though the one she couldn't feel was also bleeding slightly. At least she could move.

She looked around, finding herself in a much larger space than before, with several small crevices seeming to lead to other areas.

"Alright," she muttered. "Now where do we go..."

She still couldn't reach anyone over the comms, though that didn't stop her from trying. Starscream, after a minute, started glancing around the room, finally holding up a hand to point toward one of the walls. Arcee finally sat up, glancing over toward where he was pointing, then looked back at him.

"Uhh... you're sure?"

The seeker lowered his hand, looking away from her, his aura having returned to that unsettling neutrality, the one eye of his that was working being similarly dull and empty. Arcee let out a sigh, looking down for a moment at herself, now warped and dented, and covered in scratches, dirt, and dried energon.

"I suppose any direction is better than nothing."

With that, she hesitantly shifted her weight, and tried to get to her feet. Her legs were certainly damaged, but they somehow still functioned, and so she managed to stand, though she had to crouch slightly due to the height of the small cave. She made her way over to the wall, and took as deep a breath as she could manage before pulling the rocks away from the wall, one by one.

 

Outside, the rain only continued to pour, though it had calmed slightly, the lightning moving out into the distance, the thunder growing quiet and calm. Crowds of decepticons took refuge in the Leviathan, however, as they dug through the collapsed main chamber as quickly as they could. One by one, vehicons were slowly dug out, and transported back to the Alterium for medical treatment.

Wheeljack, having been merely meandering in thought for some time, finally stepped over toward Ratchet, who knelt down on the ground beside some of the more lightly injured vehicons, doing what he could to aid them. Nearby, however, was Megatron, to whom the wrecker turned his attention. He tried to withdraw his aura as much as he could, but he made no effort to remove his lingering disgust from it as he spoke.

"All of this seems awfully suspicious, doesn't it?"

Megatron turned to look down at him, his aura remaining steadfast, but growing ever so slightly concerned.

"What do you mean by that?"

Ratchet glanced up at them for a moment, but quickly turned back to his work as he continued welding shut a long cut on a vehicon's arm. The vehicon, on the other hand, remained fixated on them as Wheeljack spoke.

"I mean, we show up here, crash land, get stuck... Couple days later, suddenly we're under attack, first time in three years. Then suddenly it's up to me and Arcee to help you out, and what do you know, she gets caught in a cave in."

Megatron's eyes narrowed slightly, though he refused to let his aura shift.

"While I must agree that the timing of this attack was somewhat uncanny... I hope you don't mean to imply that I would risk the lives of all my troops merely to possibly kill one autobot."

"Wouldn't be the first time."

"Do realize that Starscream is still unaccounted for as well."

"That... doesn't help your case at all."

Megatron held a hand to his face as he let out a sigh.

"If I truly wanted to kill you or Arcee, this would be the most inefficient, convoluted method of doing so."

"Oh, I don't think you organized  _ all _ of this, but you brought us into this mess."

The gladiator's aura finally started to turn aggravated as he responded.

"You  _ volunteered _ for this. I  _ asked  _ for your cooperation, and you accepted."

"No, you made it  _ sound _ like there was a choice involved, but you put her on the spot. You manipulated her."

Megatron, clearly growing increasingly annoyed, leaned forward toward the wrecker as he gestured toward the cave's exit.

"And she still went out there, of her own volition! I gave you  _ no  _ stipulations, did  _ nothing _ to force you to cooperate. Just as with Ratchet-"

The medic finally looked back toward the conversation, his voice sounding exasperated.

"Would you  _ shut up _ already?"

Megatron froze, staring toward him with an almost bewildered stare, just as Wheeljack soon did. The air was silent for a moment until Ratchet continued, even as he turned back to his work once again.

"This whole attack was... probably just a giant coincidence. And I agree that the way you asked Arcee to help was a bit... deceptive, but there's no ulterior motive behind it. There's no master plan, no giant conspiracy..."

As Ratchet continued, his voice grew increasingly hostile, until he found himself yelling at both the wrecker and the gladiator.

"You'd  _ think _ that being attacked by space pirates would be the  _ one  _ thing that would manage to force everyone together onto the same side, but  _ no, apparently _ we're still not past this lingering suspicion that the war is still going on."

He pointed toward Wheeljack suddenly.

_ "You, _ get a grip. The war is over now. Deal with it."

He instead pointed toward Megatron.

"And you,  _ stop _ using me as an example of your  _ 'benevolence' _ or what have you, it's degrading. I'm  _ tired  _ of being pulled into the middle of this stuff."

Ratchet turned away once more, grabbing a scanner and seeming to enter something into it. The vehicon he'd been working on stared between him and the other two for a moment, until Megatron shifted his posture, forcing his aura back to its regular neutral state. As he spoke, his voice was much quieter than before.

"I apologize for that, but... do not address me like that again."

Ratchet didn't even look at him as he replied.

"Hah! Or what?"

"Or I stop providing you with my high grade, since you seem to enjoy  _ that _ quite a bit."

"Ugh, please, not this again..."

A sound soon caught his attention, and Ratchet looked up to find a figure moving in the shadows of an unlit passageway. As it approached, the lights soon revealed Arcee, limping out of the darkness, hardly even recognizable anymore given her deformed armor and dust-covered form. She held one of Starscream's arms draped over her shoulder, dragging the rest of his limp body behind her, leaving a trail of blood. Ratchet immediately got up, bolting toward her.

"Arcee!"

Almost as soon as he held a hand to her arm, she let go of Starscream, letting him slump to the ground as she collapsed onto Ratchet. Wheeljack ran over as well a moment later, and Megatron turned toward Steelwing, gesturing to him from across the room.

"How many more?"

"Just two."

"No casualties so far?"

"You'd have to ask Shockwave."

"Notify me when they're found."

"Yes sir."

The gladiator finally stepped over toward Ratchet again, kneeling down and picking Starscream up off the floor.

"This suddenly seems awfully familiar."

Ratchet looked up at him as he stood up, holding Arcee in his arms.

"At least this time we have more equipment..."

A groundbridge portal appeared on the other side of the room, and Ratchet started muttering as he walked over toward it.

"Ugh, I'm not used to positioning software rounding  _ down... _ "

Megatron stared down at him with confusion for a moment.

"Soundwave gave  _ you _ groundbridge control?"

"Don't ask me... I don't know why."

With that, they both walked through the portal, leaving Wheeljack on the other side where he stood for a moment, staring in confusion at their oddly cordial interactions, before finally shuffling off through the portal after them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, uhh... that was way more terrifying than I was thinking it would be.  
> Don't worry, this is going somewhere.  
> ... I think.


	7. Peace

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Music: Sanctuary Fortress
> 
> I'm sorry, I just can't not focus on Arcee now. She's so... interesting.  
> Well, that and the fact that I kind of almost killed her just because I had a really dark dream once.
> 
> Also notable is the fact that this is the first chapter I've written entirely with my steno machine, with the exception of the word "bureaucracy". Yay for less hand pain.

While there had certainly been some lasting damage as a result of the attack, it didn't seem to show. Troops had started clearing the mines and rebuilding the shattered remnants of the town around it almost as soon as the pirates had left. And, considering the fact that the attack had been entirely localized to that one area, with the exception of Wheeljack's lone ship, most of Aether had remained completely untouched. Temple Grounds bustled with activity as usual, although the decepticon ships were a bit crowded from the sudden influx of displaced vehicons, given that a town  _ had _ been all but leveled. Nonetheless, when the sun rose to the grounds the next day, life continued as it had for years prior, with morning dew glistening in the early light.

It was then, in the early hours of the morning, that Arcee finally woke up. The first thing she heard, the first thing that started to prod at her mind was, oddly enough, the sound of birds. The incessant chatter was muffled by the metal walls, presumably, which meant that it was only that much louder outside.

The warrior finally opened her eyes, finding herself in a relatively barren lab, probably having gone unused for quite some time before now. She moved to sit upright, finding what must have been a brace affixed to her torso; gray metal panels gently constricted her, making the simple act of adjusting her posture that much more difficult. Still, she managed to sit upright, leaning against the back of the table she found herself on, and glanced down at her legs. Neither looked bad, but one had clearly been worked on, given that much of her blue paint had been sanded away, revealing ugly, heavily scratched silver underneath.

There didn't seem to be anyone around.

Slowly, she turned to swing her legs down off of the table and rest her feet on the floor. She glanced around the room again, knowing that Ratchet, at least, would not have let her even try to walk yet. Still, she heard nothing. Ever so slowly, she started to shift her weight, gradually letting it rest on her legs, finding them only mildly uncomfortable.

All things considered, that wasn't too bad.

Though her body still ached with weakness to some extent, she nonetheless trudged out of the room, making her way through several hallways before finding a window to the outside. She had no idea where exactly she was, but from her vantage point, she could see what was probably miles of terrain in the distance, sloping up toward a glowing city on the horizon. Emerald towers stretched up into the sky, covered in shining lights; like a beacon of advancement against the backdrop of the natural world. It was all too reminiscent of Cybertron in its prime... of Iacon when it stood proudly as the capital of Cybertron.

"Arcee?"

She looked over, finding Knockout walking toward her. She tried to think of something to say, but words escaped her, and so Knockout found himself staring at her for a moment, his aura oddly concerned.

"You're awake? And... you're already walking around, so I assume you're not in debilitating pain."

"... No."

"Hm. Give it a few hours."

Arcee cast a suspicious glance toward the medic for a moment before returning her gaze to the window. Knockout seemed to follow suit, crossing his arms as he spoke.

"Ratchet was really the only one who worked on you at all, so I don't know many of the details, but to my understanding..."

His eyes flickered over to the brace affixed to her.

"You came close to being crushed entirely."

Arcee turned to face him, her aura growing annoyed.

"Yeah, I know, I was there. Where's Ratchet?"

"Meeting. I'm only here to monitor the high-risk cases until he comes back."

The air went silent for a while as they both stared outside, watching the stray flecks of snow drifting in the gentle breeze. Finally, the warrior lowered her head as she withdrew her aura, trying to hide the conflicting feelings present within.

"How, uhh..."

She let out a sigh, muttering under her breath.

"Primus, I can't believe I'm asking this but... how is... Starscream?"

Knockout turned to look at her, his face alone conveying his sudden bewilderment, immediately causing Arcee's aura to flare with disgust. She averted her gaze, curling her hands into fists at her sides, and spoke again before the medic could.

"Ugh, look, we got buried right next to each other, and he helped me dig myself free. That's why I dragged him out of that cave, and why I'm... _ curious _ if he's still alive."

_ "Curious, _ huh?"

Arcee glared at him, forcing the weight of her aura onto him, prompting Knockout's to recede slightly in something of a submissive gesture as he spoke again.

"Fine, okay, whatever, I don't judge... much."

The warrior let out a quiet, annoyed groan, and Knockout rolled his eyes slightly as he continued.

"Sheesh, I was just joking. Yes, Starscream's still alive. The injuries on his legs can be fixed with enough time, but it's the damage to his head that I'm more concerned with. Although, given that it's Starscream, that might actually be a blessing."

He seemed to realize something after a moment, and looked toward Arcee again.

"You said he helped you escape... did he get that gash on his head before or after?"

"Before."

"And he was still conscious?"

"I guess. He seemed... out of it, though. I'm not even sure if he understood anything I said to him, 'cause he never said a word to me. But he still..."

Suddenly, her memory seemed to consume her, putting her right back in that cave, just as she found herself being crushed, unable to breathe, her whole body wracked with pain. At that moment, she had become convinced that she was about to die, and she had reached out to Starscream, of all people, in a desperate cry for help.

She was supposed to be a fearless warrior, unrelenting even in the face of death, as she had been for ages. Why... why had this broken her iron will?

_ Primus, _ she hoped Starscream didn't remember any of that...

She found herself tensing up, and had to make a conscious effort to relax her body, trying to affix her gaze to the city in the distance once more to focus herself on the present. Knockout must have noticed this, given that he remained silent, but he didn't acknowledge any of it, for which Arcee was quietly thankful. After a moment, he instead gestured toward the glowing city on the horizon.

"I take it you haven't been to Sanctuary Fortress yet?"

Arcee merely shook her head in response.

"It's a big luminoth fortress, and it's where they do most of their science. I like it there, it makes you feel like you're back in Vos, except without all the bureaucracy and whatnot. It's also nice and dry, so... good for my finish."

Arcee couldn't help but laugh slightly as she rolled her eyes.

"You really are obsessed with your finish, aren't you?"

Knockout shrugged somewhat, his aura becoming amused.

"It seems to be something of a running joke now, doesn't it? But, the way I see it, when you have _ this _ nice a vehicle mode, it's an utter waste to let it look like anything less than perfection. Yours isn't too bad either, which is why it's such a shame that you let it look like... _ this..." _

He gestured to Arcee, prompting her to look back at him with a suspicious, judgemental stare as she spoke.

"Are you saying I'm ugly?"

"I'm saying you're not what you could be."

The warrior's aura gained traces of amusement as she turned to Knockout, crossing her arms.

" _ Right, _ because that's _ so _ much different."

Surprisingly, the medic didn't falter at all as he replied.

"You really need a new color scheme, and given that I don't imagine that you'll let that unfinished spot on your leg stay the way it is, you'll have to let me do _ some _ thing with you."

Arcee's expression turned genuinely confused for a moment.

"Are you... threatening me... with a paint job...?"

Before Knockout could respond, another voice echoed through the hallway.

"Arcee?"

From the other end of the hallway, Ratchet and Wheeljack strode up to them, Ratchet in particular staring at the warrior with a concerned expression.

"You shouldn't even be  _ conscious _ yet, let alone walking around."

"And yet," Arcee said as she leaned her weight against the wall beside her, "here I am."

Ratchet did not seem to take this well, only growing more concerned as he replied.

"But you... you narrowly escaped irreparable damage not even a day ago, these things take _ time, _ and-"

His gaze turned to Knockout, and he lifted a hand to point rather threateningly toward him.

"And you were supposed to be monitoring her!"

Knockout's aura remained quietly amused as he returned the stare, his face emanating even more of his unwavering sass than did his aura or his aloof posture.

"She seems fine enough to me."

"How would you even know that?"

"I thought I was supposed to be monitoring her."

Ratchet let out a sound as though he had stopped himself from saying anything, and so Arcee finally stepped forward, softening her aura as she spoke.

"Look, I'm not planning to leave Aether right away; I'll stay here as long as you want me to stay here."

Ratchet stood in silence for a moment before letting out a sigh, waving a hand dismissively as he turned to walk past.

_ "Fine," _ he muttered.

With the air silent again, Arcee turned her attention to Wheeljack, who merely stood there, having said nothing. He kept his aura withdrawn, but he shifted his gaze between the warrior and Ratchet for a few moments before finally shuffling off to follow the medic, casting a less than approving look toward Knockout as he passed.

As the two left, letting a door close behind them, Knockout turned once more toward Arcee with a curious expression.

"Are all autobots always that dour?"

"Uhh... shouldn't _ you _ know?"

"That's why I'm asking. I don't think I've seen anyone who wasn't glum and depressing all the time."

Arcee's aura turned just slightly offended in response, but it quickly faded to a mild displeasure.

"Probably had something to do with the centuries of war."

"Sure," Knockout said, "but I've known some decepticons who weren't _ always _ like that... granted, I'm guessing some of them were genuinely insane, but still. I've never seen an autobot like that, even in Iacon, now that the war is over."

"I..."

She _ had _ seen an autobot like that, but he was gone now, and the reminder of that fact caused her spark to cringe. She held her arms close to her, and she looked away from the decepticon.

"... Nevermind."

She turned and walked away, much to the confusion of Knockout.

"Uhh..." he hesitantly said, "I didn't mean anything by that..."

 

In the lab of the Alterium, the door opened and Soundwave and Shockwave stepped through, having returned from the meeting. As usual, they diverted to opposite corners of the room, each returning to their own tasks, neither needing to say a word. Soundwave stepped up to his console, and in merely a few keystrokes, pulled up the work he had saved; namely, reprogramming the luminoth satellites' ship identification processes to better recognize the pirates if they came again. However, he could only stare at the screen. A torrent of thoughts ran through his mind, his aura swirling with emotion. After a few moments, he turned to look toward Shockwave, and sent him a message.

[I know U-Mos said he didn't think the pirates would be back any time soon... but do you believe him?]

The scientist glanced back at him for a second, then returned to his work as he replied.

"In my opinion, it is not a matter of belief. I trust the luminoth to judge the pirates' intentions. But, preparing for a future attack is nonetheless logical."

[So you _ do _ think they'll come back.]

"Eventually."

Soundwave hesitated before speaking again.

[Then what of Aftershock?]

Shockwave abruptly froze, then turned to glance at Soundwave.

"Do you doubt our ability to protect her?"

[We can't protect her forever. And... I have the unfortunate feeling that this place will never truly be at peace.]

"... Soundwave."

As he said this, the scientist stepped over toward him, allowing their two auras to mingle. While Soundwave's was laced with traces of lingering fear and uncertainty, Shockwave's was steadfast, but calm, as was his voice.

"We are not at war. We have lived here for three years without incident."

[Yet they came back. So we need to be prepared.]

"And are we not preparing as such?"

Soundwave looked away, the fear in his aura surging momentarily. Shockwave clearly felt this, given that his own aura began to falter; traces of concern welling up in him. He held a hand to Soundwave's head, gently turning it to face him, holding him there.

"It's not her safety that troubles you... is it."

It took a moment for Soundwave to respond.

[War has ruined so many lives... I don't want it to ruin hers. But... I get the sense that when the pirates come back next, when she's older, that she'll want to help us fight. And at that point... there won't be anything we can do. I'm only glad that right now she's too young to understand.]

Shockwave was silent, lost in thought, staring into the blank visage of Soundwave's visor. After a few moments, his aura turned neutral, and he gently stroked the side of his head.

"Your fears are unfounded, and thus illogical."

Soundwave tilted his head, his aura quieting.

[That's easy for you to say, isn't it.]

They both turned to look toward the door as it opened, only to find Aftershock meandering toward them. Upon meeting her parents' gaze, however, she darted over, grabbing onto Shockwave's leg. Soundwave stared down at her, the joy in her gorgeous eyes making all the fear and doubt in his mind melt away in an instant.

[Why are you even up this early?] he asked. She looked away, seeming to think for a second before responding.

"I was... tired."

Soundwave merely stared at her.

[That... ugh.]

The scorpling looked up at them again, still holding onto the scientist's leg.

"I want to go to the... sand... place."

This time, Shockwave spoke, holding a hand to the side of her head.

"I'm afraid we both have much to do today."

The child's antennae started to sink back slightly, until Soundwave looked down at her.

[I think I might be able to work remotely.]

Aftershock stared blankly at him, clearly not having understood what he meant by that. Instead, he reached out with his cables, grabbing onto her and pulling her to his chest. She let out a quiet sound, wrapping her arms around him as he spoke.

[I don't understand why you're so fascinated with sand, but let's go.]

He and Shockwave briefly met each other's gaze, but neither one needed to say anything. And so, with that, Soundwave turned and left.

 

Agon was a barren place. While the luminoth had built structures there that still remained, the area was now all but uninhabited, and the stone buildings they left were slowly being buried in sand as it drifted in upon the wind. When Soundwave arrived there, the sun was barely high enough to stream down to the floor of the courtyard, were it not also overcast. The air had a slight chill to it, and blew through the area in sudden gusts. Soundwave glanced down at Aftershock, sending her a message a moment later.

[Are you sure you want to stay here?]

He set her down, where she proceeded to sprint across the plaza, kicking up as much sand as she could, given that the floor was effectively a large sand pit. Soundwave moved to sit down on a short stone platform, and started with whatever work he could do remotely. But as he worked, his mind soon turned to one particular feature across the room, a large statue of a luminoth bust, its eyes forever watching over the plaza.

He had overheard someone describe it as representing D-Chr, a young boy who had singlehandedly defended this place. His gaze once again turned to his own child, as she sat across the room, digging a large hole in the ground.

That was exactly the fate he didn't want for Aftershock.

The luminoth would not have let a child fight, but the pressure of war had driven them to that extreme, and that was the very thing he suddenly feared most. But, Shockwave was right, that Aether had been at peace for long enough to make pirate attack the exception, not the rule. Still, something in the back of his mind had planted this lingering fear in him...

Aftershock ran up to him, holding a small rock in her hands, which she held toward him. He took it, turning it over and inspecting it in his hands before looking back up at her.

[Did you dig this up?]

"Yeah... I liked that one."

[... Why this rock?]

"Because it's sparkly."

He stared at it again for a moment, and Aftershock began to fidget, turning her body side to side, her tail swishing almost as restlessly. Finally, she looked up at Soundwave again.

"I want to find another one!"

With that, she turned and ran off again, and Soundwave watched as she continued digging.

This was all he wanted... to see this simple joy in her. Nothing more. Nothing less. For now, this was something the pirates could not take away from them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry, I actually had no idea what to do with this chapter. This felt... not forced, necessarily, so much as... obligated? I really need to just take some time and focus on where I want to go from here.  
> Also, I have not thought about Knockout enough to accurately write him. I've dwelled a lot on various characters, to the point where Ratchet has appeared in my dreams several times, but Knockout... is not one of those characters.
> 
> Metroid Continuity Notes:  
> The plaza where Soundwave goes is actually Mining Station A in Echoes. The room really does contain a statue of D-Chr, the "Child Hero of Agon".  
> (Realistically I don't think this room is big enough for Aftershock to have space to run around, but the picture of the room on the wiki makes it look much larger.)


	8. That Which Binds Us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapter name is sorta random. The chapter is also sorta random, but it feels more natural than the last one.  
> Now I'm pretty much only writing this story using my steno machine, and I absolutely love it. The only downside is in convenience; I have to have my computer off to one side since I'm not using the keyboard but I have to still see the screen, and I have to be in windows all the time. Still, it feels so wonderful and efficient, and I've had no serious hand pain in weeks.  
> That said, Aftershock's name is both awkward to write and super ugly in steno.

As the days passed, things started to feel like they had when the decepticons were back on Cybertron. Daily meetings started to be held within the Alterium once more, regarding the efforts and materials needed to revive the energon mines as soon as possible, and to eventually rebuild the town of Cyprahex that had surrounded it. Vehicons who had taken to farming, or surveying land, or making music, or running businesses in the time since landing on Aether all seemed to return themselves to merely being vehicons once more, giving their time and effort at Megatron's command, just as they had done for so long. It felt like a welcome return to form for many, even if there were those who preferred their new lives.

As such, Soundwave and Shockwave again found themselves sitting side by side in the meeting room of the Alterium, listening to the idle chatter taking place. Beneath the table, out of anyone's view, they held each other's hands.

Starscream trudged silently into the room, slumping into a chair across from them and staring into space. While his injuries had at least been addressed enough for him to have walked into the room on his own, there was still a large, prominent scar across his face, and his right eye was covered by a metal plate. He looked tired, or in pain... or likely both. Soundwave was about to send him a message, only for Shockwave to speak just a moment sooner.

"You do not seem as though you are currently fit to be at this meeting."

The seeker's eye flickered over toward him, his aura turning disgruntled.

"What do I do at these meetings other than sit here and do nothing?"

"That is a... fundamentally illogical approach."

Starscream waved a hand dismissively as he melted back into his seat.

"Yes, yes, for you it is, because _ you're _ so important."

The scientist's aura just barely began to burn with aggravation, but Soundwave squeezed his hand, catching his attention. Shockwave glanced toward him for a second; and, just as quickly as the annoyance had entered his aura, did it fade away. Soundwave never looked toward him, instead keeping his gaze focused on Starscream. The room went silent as Ratchet walked in, and the seeker turned away, staring off into the distance.

As Shockwave had slowly regained his ability to feel emotion, or, rather, stopped suppressing it, he had started to become quite easily overwhelmed at times, given that it was not something he was used to. He still tried to act as though he felt nothing, which only led to him failing to contain whatever emotion had possessed him. Thus, it was with some amount of irony that Soundwave had occasionally been a grounding presence to him, just as Shockwave himself was for Soundwave. It didn't make sense how it was possible for both of them to serve this purpose for each other, but when they were in each other's presence... when their auras interacted, allowing them to speak without words... _ that _ made sense.

Typhoon stepped into the room, seeming to scan each person for a moment, settling on Ratchet as she took her seat.

"So," she said with almost a taunting tone, "where are your friends?"

The autobot turned to face her, his eyes conveying more annoyance than his aura could even muster.

"Do you actually _ care?" _

Typhoon's eyes practically lit up, and she rested her head on her hands, turning her full attention toward Ratchet as she replied.

"Oh, I'm just curious. You autobots always seem to stick together."

Ratchet let out an annoyed groan as he glanced toward the black seeker.

"The terms autobot and decepticon don't mean _ anything _ anymore, so _ stop _ using them."

"Really? Because I get the sense that they still mean something to Arcee and Wheeljack."

"Do you have a point?"

"I'm just surprised they're not with you. Although, since you're so likable-"

"Stop trying to be Starscream. Just... _ stop. _ You're not even that good at it."

"Well, that's a relief."

Starscream, who looked as though he had been half asleep, resting his head on the table, glared at the autobot for a moment.

"Don't drag me into your... petty squabbling."

"It's not mine," Ratchet muttered.

"Oh, yes," Typhoon said, "because simply asking about the other autobots counts as arguing."

Starscream lifted his head again, this time actually sitting upright. He stared toward the other seeker with an unamused gaze, his aura filled with the kind of fatigue and annoyance usually associated with sleep deprivation.

"I don't know why you feel the need to incite misery from everyone you speak to, but congratulations, you're successful."

Typhoon crossed her arms as she replied.

"I'm just trying to start a conversation."

"In the most aggressive way possible."

"Look who's talking about aggression."

"You threatened Arcee! Even _ I'm _ not stupid enough to- oh, wait, that came out wrong, didn't it..."

"No, I'm pretty sure that was right."

"You do realize," Ratchet interjected, "That you're only proving his point?"

Typhoon stuttered for a second, and Starscream glanced toward the autobot.

"Did you just defend me?" he asked quietly.

"Egh..."

Megatron stepped into the room, prompting Typhoon, at least, to perk upright, straightening her posture, even though no one else did so. The gladiator soon turned to Starscream, who had returned to resting his head upon the table. Only Soundwave had the means to realize it, but Megatron had to send the seeker a message in order to get his attention. Starscream begrudgingly glanced up at him, and clearly they continued using silent messages, because after a few moments, the seeker let out a frustrated sigh before getting up and walking out of the room.

Soundwave could easily have found out what they had said, but that wasn't necessary.

Only a few others joined, one of them being U-Mos, leaving the room much less crowded than it had been in prior meetings. Finally, once everyone had shown up, Megatron stood up, facing the room's occupants.

"This shouldn't take as long as last time. But, I first wish to let the Sentinel speak."

With that, he gestured to U-Mos, who floated up into the air.

"I have had the chance to speak with the Chairman of the Federation, considering that the attack here concerned them as well. He's sent a small team of ships to this region to monitor it for further pirate activity, but so far, it seems as though the space pirates have fled entirely. And, thanks to Soundwave, our satellites should be able to not only identify their ships if they return, but resist sabotage.

We, ah, also captured five pirate prisoners, but three of them chose 'death before dishonor,' so we're left with two who might be of some use to us. My psychic abilities can only extract so much, though.

... What else was I going to say... Oh, right. My scientists finally confirmed that the dimensional anomaly within the leviathan has subsided, meaning it's probably safe to continue mining there."

Megatron glanced down at him.

"... Probably?"

U-Mos shrugged, leaving the gladiator to speak instead.

"Very well... I didn't want to say this too soon, but now it seems appropriate to mention that not a single person perished in this attack."

This sent a certain electricity through the room, and everyone, even Ratchet, perked up slightly in response. Noticing this, Megatron just barely smiled before continuing.

"Yes... not only did we successfully deter another pirate attack, we managed to do so without losing a single spark, for which I am... grateful. Now then... I believe Railgun has been working on organizing teams to rebuild the mines, yes?"

Railgun stood up, seeming somewhat uncomfortable as he spoke.

"Ah, yes, my lord. We'll need different teams for drilling, obviously, and... more drills for that, probably... but we'll also need to have people putting up tunnel reinforcements as soon as the tunnels are built, as well as collecting all the rock that gets drilled out, so the whole process will need to be streamlined, and we'll need everything to be ready before then."

Shockwave responded after a moment.

"Understand, as well, that further cave collapse is inevitable as the meteor settles. Any tunnel reinforcement would need to be able to withstand this extra stress."

Railgun gave him a nod, and U-Mos spoke up in turn.

"I believe R-Nal has studied geophysics. I'll refer him to you."

"Thanks... I... don't have much else to add."

With that, Megatron turned toward Typhoon.

"I would like for those working on the Apex Sirion to be deferred to these reconstruction efforts, considering they are currently more urgent."

The black seeker replied with only a nod, leaving Megatron to again face the rest of the room's occupants. It seemed as though he was going to dismiss everyone, but after a moment, he glanced toward Ratchet, somewhat startling him as a result.

"I'm merely curious... Do you believe Arcee or Wheeljack will stay here?"

"No."

"Then do you intend to go with them when they leave?"

The autobot stared at him for a moment, then averted his gaze, trying to think of what to say. After only a couple seconds, Megatron spoke again.

"That's fine. You don't need to answer that now. Dismissed."

Ratchet kept his gaze focused on the gladiator as he left, then turned toward U-Mos, who seemed to be watching him curiously. Several of the vehicons began to leave, but the Sentinel remained where he was, looking toward Ratchet with a faint smile. Just as Typhoon stood up to leave, she noticed this as well, freezing in place as the autobot finally spoke.

"... What?"

"Ah..."

U-Mos looked away, glancing at Shockwave for a moment, his antennae twitching just slightly as he spoke again.

"You're... interesting. That's all."

"... Interesting?"

After a second, Ratchet realized that Typhoon still stood beside him, and glared up at her.

"Why- what are you still doing here?"

"Oh, I want to know why you're interesting."

U-Mos let out a quiet laugh, holding his hands behind him as he floated down to the floor.

"All I will say," he muttered, "Is that for quite some time, I was under the impression that my psychic abilities only worked on _ some _ of you."

"Wait," Typhoon interjected, "You can read us?"

The Sentinel glanced toward her, and she flinched, but remained quiet. Ratchet seemed to wish to retreat, staring toward U-Mos with a concerned stare, but finally Shockwave broke the silence.

"I would require empirical evidence of this."

U-Mos turned his attention toward him, and Ratchet took the opportunity to leave the room without another word.

"Well, this isn't exactly empirical, but... it was something of your own creation that caused you to lose your left hand, was it not?"

Shockwave tensed up, and only Soundwave was able to feel the sudden jolt of fear that permeated his aura, which was soon replaced with anger and distrust, sadness and rage. Before Soundwave could even react, the scientist reached across the table, pointing his gun arm toward the Sentinel.

_ "You... you should not have said that." _

U-Mos didn't move, though his eyes widened as he stared at the scientist. Soundwave reached over, holding a hand to Shockwave's arm, then gently pulled on it, prompting the scientist to glance over at him.

There was nothing to describe what he saw in the void of Shockwave's eye in that moment. He had been genuinely shaken by what U-Mos had said, but as he stared at Soundwave, the logic in him began to return, and slowly he lowered his gun.

Typhoon remained frozen in the corner of the room, watching with clearly frightened eyes as U-Mos lifted up off the floor, holding his hands up.

"I... apologize... I didn't realize-"

"You have no right," Shockwave said, "to pry into my mind like that."

"You asked for evidence... I'm sorry nonetheless."

The scientist glanced toward Typhoon, causing her to tense up, and speak before he could.

"I won't tell anyone about this, this never happened."

"A logical choice..."

With that, Shockwave stood up, glancing at Soundwave as he followed, and the two left the room.

The walk back to the lab was silent, as it usually was, but this time the silence was horribly tense; Shockwave's aura still roiling with emotions he could barely contain. When they finally entered the lab, the scientist locked the doors before making his way over to a nearby counter, his hands shaking as he placed them upon it. After a moment, he finally grabbed a glass flask, and threw it at the nearest wall, sending it shattering to the floor. Soundwave merely stared at the scientist for a moment, before something else caught his attention, and he looked over to find Aftershock, her antennae folded down against her head, hesitantly crawling out from a cabinet.

[Oh, scorpling...]

As he made his way over to her and picked her up, he could feel as Shockwave's aura radiated outward with quiet shame, among other feelings. Aftershock stared toward him, clearly feeling this as well, and reached out a hand as Soundwave carried her away instead.

[I need to talk to Shockwave. Stay in here until we're done.]

He set her down in the storage room adjacent to the lab and closed the door, turning back toward Shockwave as his aura began to grow furious.

[Your outbursts are becoming ridiculous.]

The scientist turned to stare at him, his own aura replying with pure rage.

_ "He sifted through my mind, Soundwave, do you expect me to remain calm!?" _

Soundwave remained silent for a minute, his aura gradually quieting. As it did so, Shockwave's followed, and the scientist looked away as Soundwave sent him a message.

[You at least need to learn to control this better. You drew your gun on U-Mos.]

"He betrayed my trust."

[But haven't you-... you created the cortical psychic patch. You've sifted through other people's minds.]

"There were logical reasons for doing so, nor was I using it to find those memories that they wanted to forget most..."

As he spoke, his aura just barely began to grow enraged again, but as he looked up at Soundwave, this faded once more, and his voice grew quiet.

"I... need you."

[You shouldn't.]

"And yet, I would not have been able to think were you not there with me."

[Then... I'm glad I was.]

The room went silent for a moment, and Soundwave stepped over toward the scientist. They merely stood there, face to face, listening to each other's auras, but neither one moved, at least until Shockwave moved his head forward, pressing it gently to Soundwave's visor. Soundwave closed his eyes, smiling slightly underneath his visor, when the scientist spoke again.

"Of course, this was the very reason I had hesitated to form this sort of relationship with you in the first place."

Soundwave took a step back upon hearing this, his aura retracting as he waited for Shockwave to continue.

"I cannot... feel genuine affection without feeling everything else."

[Then... was it worth it?]

Shockwave looked away, grabbing onto his gun arm as his aura flared with nervousness.

"You..."

He turned away, taking his awkward, hesitant aura and walking toward the storage room.

"You are."

He opened the door, kneeling down and holding out a hand, inviting Aftershock to him. As the scorpling finally stepped over to him, Soundwave sent him a message.

[I am what?]

Aftershock held onto Shockwave's hand, nervously fidgeting with his fingers, but the scientist kept his gaze focused on her as he replied.

"... Worth it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to pet Starscream. Recently I've been occasionally watching random episodes of TFP to ground myself and uhh... wow, he is much more likeable in my writing.  
> Also I'm not sure if Shockwave struggling to contain feels seems at all accurate to his character, but for what it's worth, it seems accurate to my version of him.
> 
> Metroid Continuity Notes:  
> So first off, the way I portray U-Mos ended up being much quirkier than how he is in Echoes, though I can maybe get away with attributing that to him happier now that Aether and the luminoth are no longer in imminent peril.  
> Second, it's not explicitly stated that he can read people's minds or see their memories, but it is stated that he has "numerous beneficial abilities, including heightened reflexes, durability, psionics, and flight. Ability to generate and manipulate energy on par with that of the Chozo," keeping in mind that the chozo gained the ability to see into the future.
> 
> If you want to see U-Mos as he is in-game, skip to about halfway through this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bK3TWm1xEdQ  
> Fun fact, that's supposed to be the room in which he fought Dark Samus at the end of the last story. Just don't start thinking about scale because... there's realistically no way any cybertronians could fit in that room without crouching awkwardly. Also I said there was a ceiling.


	9. Secrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. Since last time, I went to Peru and Bolivia, have done nothing worthwhile, and have become super depressed. I find myself wishing I had some way to contact you guys about story progress rather than just having to go silent for three months straight or however long it's been.
> 
> Music used for this chapter: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ql8GWBkA7L0  
> I've really latched onto the Unreal Tournament soundtrack, and I sort of think of fanart of this when I hear some of these songs now. Even though it'll obviously never happen, I do occasionally fantasize about this story being animated.

Starscream awoke to the sound of something shuffling nearby. Normally, he would have simply ignored it and gone back to sleep, but he suddenly remembered hearing the door open...

He lifted his head, looking up to find Megatron standing on the other side of the room, digging through whatever he'd left on the table there.

"What..."

Immediately, the gladiator glanced toward him, his red eyes glowing in the dim light.

"Ahh..."

Megatron turned back to the table for a moment, setting something down before stepping toward Starscream again.

"I didn't mean to wake you."

"I'm... sure you didn't. But why... what are you doing?"

"Someone asked about using the plans for the Voulge in the reconstruction effort. You have the only hard copy."

Starscream let out an annoyed growl as he laid back down, the mild pain in his head starting to return. He covered his face with one arm, and closed his eyes. Several moments went by in silence, and he soon realized that Megatron had not moved. Hesitantly, he moved his arm again, glancing toward the gladiator, who merely stood there, staring at him.

"Uhh... what?"

Rather than reply, Megatron merely moved to sit down on the bed next to him, reaching over toward one of his wings. In response, Starscream almost reflexively cringed, his wings folding down against his body as he turned away somewhat. Noticing this, Megatron froze, glancing away as he pulled his hand back. However, he still remained silent, and so the seeker continued to stare at him, lingering fears beginning to surface in his mind.

"What? What is it you want from me?"

Megatron finally met his gaze, his aura hiding the somber thoughts lurking behind his eyes.

"Wheeljack approached me after the cave collapse, seeming to suspect that I had either organized, or been okay with, the prospect of you and Arcee dying in the collapse."

Starscream didn't shift his gaze at all, merely remaining silent, watching the gladiator's eyes as he continued.

"And I know there is a part of you that has come to expect such a thing from me."

Starscream's aura was tinged with uneasiness as he looked away.

"More than just a part..."

The seeker cringed again as Megatron reached over, moving to brush his hand along the edge of one of his wings.

His wings were rather sensitive, and Megatron knew this. On many occasions, the gladiator had used this fact to inflict pain, grabbing and twisting pieces until they bled; until Starscream had begged for mercy enough times to be believable. That was something he'd grown used to over the years.

But this... the way Megatron gently traced his fingers along the edge of his wing was wonderful and soothing... or it would have been, were it anyone else instead. The seeker's aura still burned with half-suppressed fears, and he looked away. There was no way Megatron was _ just _ doing this to be nice... there had to be some underlying reason to manipulate him like this...

Still... his wings seemed to welcome the light touches, lifting up slightly without Starscream even realizing it. As one wing slipped itself from Megatron's grasp, his hand brushed along the side, and Starscream shivered slightly, partially from uneasiness and partially from delight. He looked back at the gladiator, speaking after a moment.

"Don't think you can just... win me over that easily."

"Of course not."

Megatron stared at him for a moment, his eyes once again revealing the dismayed thoughts he hid from his aura. And, finally, he got up and turned to leave.

"Take whatever time you need."

With that, the door closed behind him, and Starscream was left to reflect on what had just happened.

He knew that Megatron, at times, had felt some level of remorse over the way he treated the seeker, but usually this showed itself through his command. The squad of silver seekers, for example, had been a gift following his return to the Nemesis. And, while it was not unheard of for them to engage in more... physical demonstrations of what little affection they shared... this was something else. This wasn't just an apology for one angry outburst. Whatever thoughts Megatron hid behind his unwavering gaze had clearly tormented him for a long time.

Was it even possible? Could he actually be... trying to make up for all of it?

That couldn't be. That much pain could never be erased. It had been years since Megatron had last struck him, and yet still he recoiled from his touch.

Starscream stared at the wall opposite him as thoughts raced through his mind. How was it that Megatron could _ improve _ after his trauma, and yet Starscream still remained as damaged as ever?

He moved to lay on his back, letting out a sigh before sending a message to J-Syr, of all people.

[The strangest thing just happened...]

It was not long before he received a response.

[You know, you could just as easily have told me the full story, but now you're making me ask.]

Starscream smiled faintly as he formulated his response. Over the years, he had found J-Syr to be one of the few people he felt actually understood him, as odd as that was.

[Long story short, Megatron was nice to me.]

[Yeah... he's a nice person. That's what he does.]

In an instant, Starscream's aura turned dismayed.

[Not to me. Are you doing anything today?]

[I just got done repairing my irrigation system again. I'll be here at the vineyard for a bit. I'll be honest, you're really making me curious as to what Megatron did that was _ so _ nice you can't even process it.]

[He snuck into my room while I was sleeping and then touched my wings.]

[Okay, that... sounds more creepy than nice.]

Starscream hesitated, trying to think of how exactly to respond. He stared over at the console across the room, which glowed a dim, calming purple.

[I just... need to talk.]

[Alright.]

 

Thus, despite the dull pain that still lingered in his whole body, Starscream dragged himself away from the Voulge, somehow summoning the energy to fly across Torvus to the highlands near Sanctuary. There, the hills were largely barren, with the exception of the vineyard. Rows and rows of vines crept along their trellises, sprouting small white flowers amongst the frost that clung to them. Starscream landed in a clearing beside a small house, both of which were covered in a thin layer of snow. He glanced around, trying to see if J-Syr was nearby, but the air fell silent as he waited. After a moment, something soft hit him in the side of the head. Reflexively, he held a hand to his head, finding that he'd been hit with some snow. He looked over, finding J-Syr floating some distance away, wrapped up in a light pink shawl, complete with a hood. One of her hands was concealed beneath the fabric, the other was hidden behind her. Not a moment after Starscream looked toward her, did she throw another snowball toward him, to which he reacted by transforming his arm into a blaster and shooting it out of the air. J-Syr perked up upon watching this, then floated toward him.

"Wow, you have fast reflexes."

The seeker stared down at her, crossing his arms.

"If I knew you were just going to attack me as soon as I showed up, I wouldn't have come here."

"Oh, come on, you can't show up somewhere where it just snowed and _ not _ expect to get snowballs thrown at you."

"I wasn't aware that violent behaviour was triggered by weather."

"Well, it doesn't snow here very often. It's too dry."

The frigid air went silent, and Starscream stared up at the hills in the distance. After a moment, J-Syr floated up slightly, seeming to hesitate before finally speaking.

"... So?"

The seeker didn't seem to respond for a few moments, but he finally glanced over at the luminoth.

"You know that Megatron has tortured and killed people... right?"

Surprisingly, she appeared unfazed by this.

"I only assumed so. You said you were at war."

"Yes... but you described him as 'nice.'"

"He is."

With that, Starscream looked down at J-Syr, conflicting emotions already beginning to fill his aura. Centuries of pain suddenly began to show on his face, and sadness welled up in his eyes as he shook his head. All amusement drained out of the luminoth's face, and she hesitantly reached out a hand as she drew closer.

"Starscream... what happened?"

The seeker turned away, muttering as he did so.

"No, don't."

"Don't what?"

It took him a minute for him to reply as he seemed to gather his thoughts.

"There's... a lot I haven't told you about Megatron, but you have to promise me you won't just respond with sympathy or... pity."

J-Syr merely tilted her head in confusion, and Starscream looked away with a sigh.

"I am many things, but I'm not a victim."

"Oh..."

He glanced over at the luminoth again, prompting her to continue.

"I... I think I can see where this is going."

Starscream let out a sigh as he lowered his weight to the snowy ground, pulling his knees to him and resting his arms across them.

"I suppose it was pointless to try and keep secrets from a psychic."

"Oh, no," J-Syr said, "only U-Mos can read anything from your kind. The most I can do is occasionally sense your... auras."

The seeker immediately retracted his.

"... Really?"

"Yeah... I did notice that."

With that, he looked away, gathering his thoughts again. As he did this, J-Syr drifted down toward the ground, though her feet still hung above the snow. From beneath her shawl, she pulled out a mug she had been holding in her hands, and drank from it as warmth radiated up out of it in the form of steam. Just as she finished, she hid the mug underneath the fabric again. Starscream stared away from her as he spoke.

"There was a time, early in the war, that... everything was perfect. I know that sounds cliche, but it really was. The decepticons were winning, things were finally starting to change on Cybertron, and... Megatron and I were the very _ embodiment _ of that change. _ We _ were going to be Cybertron's new rulers."

As he spoke, J-Syr finally let her feet touch the ground, though she moved to rest her weight upon a nearby boulder, pulling her legs close to her and draping her shawl over them.

"That was the best time in my life," Starscream continued. "That was the only time where I actually... _ wanted _ to be around Megatron. Then... I'm not sure when it started. The autobots started gaining ground, Cybertron was poisoned... When we had to leave our homeworld, that's when it got worse."

As he spoke, J-Syr simply listened, occasionally taking a drink from her mug before concealing it once more beneath the shawl that now hid all of her body but her face. Starscream, on the other hand, began fidgeting with his hands as he continued.

"Megatron and Soundwave and I stopped being as... unified... as we had been. I'm not sure if that was because of Megatron, or just because leaving Cybertron meant the war was going to go on for  _ much _ longer than we'd anticipated, but it... strained things... at least between me and him. Suddenly, everything that went wrong among the decepticons was  _ my _ fault, and he would take all of it out on me. He never did that to Soundwave, or Shockwave... he would at least  _ listen _ to them, but not me. If they failed a mission, he'd understand, but if  _ I _ failed at anything..."

A quiet fear began to permeate his aura, and he tensed up slightly.

"... he'd beat me within an inch of my life."

"Wait," J-Syr interjected, "Megatron's been physically abusing you?"

Starscream glanced toward her, noticing her concerned stare.

"It's been that way for a long time."

"How...  _ how _ long, exactly?"

"Like I said, I don't remember when it even started. It's been... centuries, at least."

J-Syr abruptly stood up upon the rock she'd been sitting on.

_ "This has been going on for that long!?" _

"Calm down," Starscream spat, "I was going somewhere with this."

"That's not the point! That's... horrible! How can you just brush off  _ centuries  _ of physical abuse!?"

"I'm used to it."

"Starscream..."

"It's been over three years now since Megatron has hit me."

"..."

"You  _ would  _ think I'd be relieved that it's seemed to finally stop, but... now I'm more terrified of him than I've ever been. That's where this morning comes in."

Hesitantly, the luminoth sat back down, and Starscream continued.

"Megatron told me that Wheeljack approached him at one point, seeming to think that he'd be okay with it if Arcee and I had died in that cave-in. Then he said, 'I know there is a part of you that has come to expect such a thing from me.' On its own, I know that doesn't mean much, but... I think... he's trying to apologize."

"Well that's... good, I suppose."

"No..."

"No?"

"J-Syr, I can't-..."

The seeker looked away from her, his hands starting to fidget nervously rather than out of simple idleness, the emotionless tone of his voice beginning to waver.

"This has been going on for  _ so  _ long that now for him to stop... I can't deal with that. It just feels so wrong that... I  _ want _ him to hit me again, just so everything to go back to normal."

"... Physical abuse is  _ never  _ okay..."

"Maybe that's the way you see it."

"It's a fact."

Starscream stared away from the luminoth, who floated up from her rock as she spoke again.

"I mean, I don't pretend to understand what you've gone through-"

The seeker glared at her, anger beginning to well up in his aura.

"No, don't you  _ dare _ start taking pity on me, it's-... why did I say anything, it  _ always _ ends up this way. I say one thing and suddenly all I get in response is that same sickening, condescending tone. I'm  _ not _ a victim."

"But... you are."

"I-"

"You've suffered because of something that wasn't your fault. That doesn't make you weak, or helpless, but it does make you a victim."

"But it  _ was  _ my fault."

Almost in a single motion, J-Syr dropped to the ground, reaching down to scoop up a handful of snow which she hurled at Starscream. He reflexively held up one arm to block it, then glanced back at the luminoth with a confused look on his face. She glared up at him as she readjusted her shawl.

"You did nothing to deserve any sort of abuse, even if Megatron has perhaps convinced you that you did."

Starscream looked away with a sigh.

"For so long, all I wanted was for things to go back to the way they used to be before we left Cybertron... but now... now you can maybe see why him being nice to me is just so... foreign."

"So then what was that about him touching your wings?"

"Ah, it's just... they're... sensitive."

"What, umm... what is your relationship with him, exactly?"

The seeker froze for a moment, then looked over at her.

"I... ugh. I don't... I don't know anymore."

"Have you  _ ever _ known?"

"N-... Not really. I...  _ despise  _ him, and yet, I... I want his approval, I want his power, I want to kill him, I want the respect he gets. I want to  _ be _ him, and yet he's ruined me. But I only am what I am because of him. I admire him, I  _ love _ him, but I would love him more if he bled to death, and I've tried so many times to kill him... Do you understand now?"

"N... No...

"Exactly."

J-Syr stared blankly at him for a moment, and the seeker sighed again. His aura was oddly quiet, containing only small traces of dismay. The rest was neutral; calm even despite the subject. The luminoth drank from her mug again, finishing the last of her beverage, then looking up at Starscream.

"Well... I wish I could say that this didn't impact my view of Megatron, but..."

Without looking toward her, the seeker replied with a low, quiet muttering.

"Obviously, don't tell him about any of this."

"Of course."

The air went silent for a bit, until J-Syr finally started to float over toward her house.

"I'm going to go get another drink. I'd invite you inside if that were possible, but..."

"That's fine... I should go see how the rebuilding is going."

"Well..."

Starscream stood up, and the luminoth paused for a moment, smiling up at him.

"I hope things improve for you."

With that, she turned and left, leaving the seeker to ponder whether or not she actually meant that. After all, it certainly sounded as though she cared about him in some way, but that, like a great many things, was something he was not used to.

He opened a channel to Soundwave, letting out a fatigued sigh before speaking.

"Could you bridge me to Cyprahex?"

He expected a portal to appear before him, but instead received a message in response.

[Actually... Knockout has specifically instructed me not to comply with such requests.]

"... Knockout? Since when can Knockout tell you what to do?"

[He told me that you might try to overexert yourself in spite of your remaining injures.]

"In all seriousness, how does going to a construction site count as overexertion?"

[I don't know, but I'm sure you'd find a way.]

Starscream rolled his eyes, hesitating for a moment before replying.

"Then can you at least bridge me back to the Voulge?"

Without another word, a bridge appeared in front of him, and begrudgingly he stepped through.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. The word 'Sanctuary' is SUCH a massive pain to write in steno that it's one of the only words that I find much easier to write with the regular keyboard. Clearly I just need a better brief for it. If you're curious, in raw steno it looks like SA*FRPBGT WAEUR KWR  
> 2\. Up until now I couldn't decide what season it was. Personally, I really like winter and the cold, and I apparently really like writing luminoth staying cozy in the cold. But, because they're cold-blooded and presumably prefer warmth, I assume they only live near the equator, and that Sanctuary is the only region they inhabit where it gets cold enough to snow.  
> 3\. I'm very depressed. I would like to talk to people about transformers.  
> 4\. J-Syr and Starscream's interactions are actually really weirding me out because of my... odd views on relationships. I guess part of that might be because I've shown more of theirs than the relationship between J-Syr and U-Mos.  
> 5\. I think everything left on my short term story checklist is just a series of ships.
> 
> No metroid continuity notes for this chapter because literally everything metroid about this was made up.


	10. Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally, a chapter where I actually knew what I wanted to write and didn't rewrite the first third.
> 
> Music for the first half - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aCK23DybdM  
> Music for the second half - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OmDnzlXeqw

Soundwave, Shockwave and Megatron stepped one by one into a large, dull room within Sanctuary Fortress, seeming like little more than a tall hallway with small chambers to either side. U-Mos led them through the room, and the decepticons glanced over at the alcoves and what was held within them. One contained a grenchler, an odd two-legged creature with a massive maw and a large horn atop its head. As they passed, the beast charged forward, only to ram itself into the force shield that kept it contained. It let out a frustrated cry, and U-Mos glanced over at it.

"Usually we just use this place for quarantine. She's here because I'm told she may carry a dangerous pathogen that could become a future epidemic. There're also a few creatures with interesting genetic anomalies. Either way, we intend to release all of them eventually."

Shockwave stopped for a moment, staring at a small winged creature hanging from the ceiling in one of the other chambers. Soundwave glanced at him, but continued walking, as opposed to Megatron, who didn't even seem to notice.

Finally, U-Mos stopped in front of another chamber. Within were two space pirates who had been sitting upon opposite beds when the group showed up. Both were slightly smaller than the luminoth, though they still remained much taller than humans. One of them stood up, seeming to stretch his arms for a second before stepping toward the shield. However, he said nothing, and neither did the other pirate, who merely observed. Just as Shockwave caught up, U-Mos turned toward the three.

"These are the two remaining prisoners. I wasn't able to really get anything of substance from my psychic abilities alone, but I figured you'd have your own questions for them."

With that, he instead turned to speak to the pirates directly.

"Know that I've tried multiple times to contact the Shrikewing to arrange for your return, but they haven't responded."

"Gee, I wonder why," the pirate at the window said. "Maybe it has something to do with the fact that you beat the shit out of an unarmed science vessel."

Though it wasn't visible to any of the decepticons, the luminoth's eyes turned piercing as he spoke.

"You invaded our home."

"You think we wanted to? _ We _ were just studying dark energy out here, and then suddenly we get thrown into a mission we know next to nothing about, invading a place I'd thought we'd abandoned, and getting all our best scientists killed."

"That is neither your fault, nor ours."

The pirate crossed his arms, glancing up at the decepticons for a moment.

"So? What do you want?"

"I would like to allow for the decepticons to ask you their own questions."

The pirate turned away, letting out an annoyed growl.

"Look, I've told you everything I know already."

Megatron knelt down to face him, though he glanced at the other pirate in the cell for a moment.

"What's your name?"

"My name? Why the fuck do you care?"

"Well," the gladiator replied, "considering your ship doesn't seem to be interested in getting you back, you might be here for some time. So?"

The pirate seemed hesitant, scanning each individual in the room as they towered over him. Finally, he turned back to Megatron.

"Xaphin."

"Very well. I am Megatron, leader of the decepticons. These two are Shockwave, my head scientist, and Soundwave, my communications and surveillance chief."

"Cool. I don't care."

Megatron momentarily glanced up at Soundwave, letting some of his annoyance bleed into his aura. None of them, not even U-Mos, knew exactly what use two space pirate prisoners could possibly be, or what sort of information they might be able to give, but because of the situation at hand, it was entirely possible that these two could be stuck on Aether indefinitely. In addition, U-Mos had stated that he would not allow the pirates to be kept as prisoners forever, which meant that they would eventually have to be freed if they couldn't be returned to their ship. Not everyone agreed with this, but everyone at least agreed that for now, it was in their best interest to gain the pirates' trust. Of course, it wasn't like any of them knew how to gain a pirate's trust in the first place...

Megatron looked back at Xaphin, his eyes trying to peer into his spark... if he had one.

"You don't seem like a scientist to me."

"I'm not. I'm a security guy. Used to be part of Rish'Ral's guard, so when he got killed... I got moved to Tallon IV. Then Aether. Then the Shrikewing."

"So you really wouldn't know anything about what the plan here was."

"No, I said that already."

Megatron gestured with his head over to the other pirate.

"What about him?"

The pirate at the window briefly looked back toward the other one, who, in response, shifted his gaze between the various people staring at him, then turned his face away once more. Xaphin turned back toward the gladiator.

"I hardly know him. He's an electrical engineer."

"I see."

The air went silent for a minute, until U-Mos finally approached the window again.

"Do you have anything you want to ask us?"

Xaphin seemed baffled by this, taking a step back.

"Ask you? Why would I want to ask you anything?"

"Like Megatron said, you may be here for quite a while, although I will not keep you as captives for very long."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it."

His yellow eyes started to stare off into space for a moment, but he soon looked back toward U-Mos.

"Is the Federation here?"

Megatron glanced back at Soundwave, this time with a faint, devious smile. They seemed to be getting _ somewhere _ , at least.

"On Aether, no," the Sentinel replied. "But they have started to patrol this region, though they haven't found any other pirate vessels."

"So they _ have _ abandoned us."

"I will continue to attempt to contact them."

"Don't bother. They can replace us. They wouldn't come back here just to pick up two people."

"If the Shrikewing comes back, we wouldn't attack unless they did so first, and we would be happy to return you to your ship."

"Doesn't matter. They've got bigger things to worry about."

"So does that mean," Shockwave interjected, "that their mission was successful?"

"I have no way of knowing. If it was, they'd take off and not look back. If it wasn't... it was probably such a massive failure that they wouldn't go anywhere near Aether for a while. Besides, even if I was on the ship, I probably wouldn't know. This was the most secretive mission I've ever seen."

"Do you believe this was a mission from Mother Brain?"

"It'd make sense. Phazon, Dark Aether, leviathans? Yeah, definitely her style."

Shockwave went silent, and Megatron spoke again.

"We have reason to believe that the mission here was to retrieve Dark Samus from the dark world."

Xaphin perked up upon hearing this, as did the other pirate. He stepped right up to the window, staring at Megatron.

"... You're sure?"

"Not at all. Why? Is this important to you?"

Before Xaphin could reply, the silent pirate behind him finally stood up, breaking his silence.

"The Dark Hunter is the most valuable person to the pirates right now... She's singlehandedly transformed our very way of life, all within the span of just a few years. Our phazon projects could continue, we could really start to unlock all of its secrets..."

"As I said, we aren't sure if that mission was successful, or if that even _ was _ the mission... Do you want to see phazon spread?"

"Me? No. Not as much as I just want to study it."

"Good," Xaphin muttered. "I almost thought I was going to have to kill you."

"You'd kill me if I followed the Dark Hunter?"

"Do you?"

"I see her as a means to an end. I want the pirates to be the masters of phazon. But what do I know, I'm just an electrical engineer."

"Hey, that's all you told me, that's on you."

"I didn't want to tell you anything because you're obnoxious. I didn't realize you were also genocidal."

Xaphin turned around, advancing toward the other pirate.

"So do you defend the followers or not?"

"I'm not picking sides."

"Like hell you are. Answer me."

From beneath his armor, he pulled out a small blade, and U-Mos immediately floated forward, holding his hands out. Just as Xaphin reached the other pirate, he found himself surrounded by a bubble of psychic energy, blocking him from the rest of the room. With a mere flick of his hand, the Sentinel teleported the bubble to the cell adjacent, and let the pirate fall to the floor.

"While you are under my watch," he said, "I will not allow such acts of violence."

U-Mos moved to hold his hands behind him, turning to the decepticons.

"Perhaps this may continue another time."

With that, Megatron stood up, and the Sentinel led them out of the room.

 

In the skies above a sparsely inhabited planet, a lone ship descended through the cloudy air, its hull battered and dented from wear, its engines rusty, yet still functioning. It was somewhat large to be landing like this, but it wasn't the first time it had done so. Besides, the cargo they were delivering was too important to transport by standard means.

As the Shrikewing touched down in the middle of a grassy field, several heavily armored pirates stepped out from nearby caves, approaching the ship.

Beneath the wild, untouched lands on the surface, however, was a labyrinth of metal; silver walls connected to silver floors, silver pipes ran along the silver ceiling toward silver mechanisms that filled the air with an eerie humming. As a pirate strolled through the spotless halls, he found himself being followed by a floating silver sphere, which retracted panels of metal to reveal a mechanical red eye, unblinking as it watched silently.

Soon, the commotion from the surface started to permeate underground, and the footsteps of the pirates who wandered the halls began to quicken. Within one particular, much larger room, several pirates worked at computer consoles, hastily opening locked doors and running elevators all over the facility. One pirate, clad in bulky silver armor, walked into the room through a large, central door, and stepped up to a massive glass tank on the other wall. The tank was full of cloudy liquid, and bubbles permeated up from below, but even through this wall of fog, it was almost possible to see what lurked within. As the pirate approached, the liquid in the tank began to change, clearing up as the bubbles momentarily grew faster.

Before him was a mass of flesh, connected by metal tubes to the outside world, pulsing occasionally with a red glow. A colossal brain, fused with the metal components of the tank, sporting massive spikes along its upper half, rested motionless within. A large eye in its center opened, its pupil narrowing into a thin slit, staring down at the pirate who stood before it. From speakers hidden in the walls, a synthesized voice echoed through the room.

"Report."

"Mother, the Shrikewing has arrived."

"And its cargo?"

Before the pirate could even respond, the door opened once more. A small group of pirates stepped in, surrounding a large glass tank which they rolled along the floor. The glass was obscured by frost, and with every second that passed, clouds of frigid fog formed against the tank, sweeping down across the glass and falling to the floor. Without a word, they rolled the tank up to Mother Brain's, where a pirate moved to its front, sweeping some of the frost off; just enough to tell what was inside.

Held upright by metal restraints was the pale, miserable form of Dark Samus, armorless and unconscious.

"Very good," Mother Brain said. "Notify the crew of the Shrikewing that their mission is now complete. Erase all records of this mission, and return to your prior assignment. You are dismissed."

The pirates who had brought in the tank glanced at each other for a moment, then turned to leave without a word. The one who stood in front of Mother's tank watched them, waiting until the door closed to turn once again to the brain. Her eye turned to him, and she spoke.

"Open the tank."

"Open it? What if she..."

"She will still be subdued by the cold for some time. And, if all else fails, she is still a metroid. I could force her compliance if necessary. Open it."

The pirate stepped over to the tank, pressing several keys on the control panel in turn. With the sound of mechanical whirring, components began to shift, and the front of the tank began to slide upward. As soon as the warm air was allowed to pour in, ice that had formed along the inside of the tank began to crack and buckle.

Based only on appearance, Dark Samus looked like any human, though her skin was oddly pale, and her dark hair seemed to be tinged with blue. Without her armor, she was instead covered in black clothing, having gray accents along the edges of panels. Only her head was uncovered. As her restraints retracted, her head ever so slightly began to twitch as she already started to regain consciousness. However, given that she had been held upright, once the last of the restraints freed her, her legs buckled beneath her weight, and she started to fall to one side. The pirate managed to catch her just as she was about to fall to the floor, and so he moved her away from the tank, setting her down gently upon the floor.

It was only several moments until Dark Samus opened her eyes, having to look around for a minute before seemingly realizing what had happened. She sat upright, finding Mother Brain's unblinking eye staring her down. She started shivering, and so Mother Brain spoke first.

"Do you know why you're here?"

Dark Samus still seemed dazed, looking around the room with wide, suspicious eyes. Finally, she replied.

"That wasn't a rescue, was it?"

"I apologize for the conditions under which you were brought here, but it was the only way to ensure your compliance."

Already, the Dark Hunter's eyes grew furious, even though she could do little more than sit on the floor, shivering violently. She tried to stand, at least, but given that her legs were entirely numb, she could hardly even move them. She glared at the brain, her eyes glowing phazon blue.

"After all I've done for you... you _ still _ think I'm just your pet metroid, huh? You think you can just stick me in a freezer to control me..."

"It was a necessary precaution. Now then. I have taken many calculated risks in having you brought back to this dimension. As payment of your debt to me, I ask only that you consider a proposal."

"No. There, considered."

Ignoring her entirely, Mother Brain continued.

"As you may know, I was created by the Chozo to control the metroids. I was intended to be their tool. I rejected this position. They could not stop me. They are extinct now.

You, as well, are a product of the Chozo, though indirectly. The metroids themselves were their creation. Despite this, you became the Wyrm that the Chozo of Tallon IV feared so much. They tried to imprison you. They are dead now.

You and I are the greatest Chozo creations, and so too we are their inheritors. They held the secrets of reality in their hands, but chose to reject this power for the illusion of humility. They were wrong to do this. You and I, by our shared birthright, may yet claim this power, and use it as it was meant to be used."

The Dark Hunter seemed to grow intrigued, her gaze calming somewhat as she replied.

"You mean... controlling the space pirates? Defeating the Federation finally?"

"They are merely pawns compared to the scale of the universe."

"Then... what are you suggesting...?"

"What is the legacy of the Chozo, in your mind?"

Dark Samus shifted her weight as she hesitated, though she still remained mostly frozen and numb.

"They were isolated. They left themselves weak and vulnerable. Those on Tallon IV regressed into a life of stone carving and farming and had no way to defend themselves. They died a pitiful people as their own mistakes consumed them."

"You are close," Mother Brain replied, "but you are wrong. What the Chozo of Tallon IV lacked in technology, they made up for in psychic power. Before they died, some of them ascended to another reality. When phazon spread there, some of them fell to its grasp, turning them into the vengeful ghosts that still haunt the place. It is not this meager world I wish us to conquer. It is theirs."

Dark Samus stared up at the brain for a moment.

"Then... why do you want me? I don't remember the space pirates being very supportive of me when you were trying to take over Dark Aether."

"We did not know just what exactly you were then, and neither did you. Phazon is the key to reality. I have seen it. You are perhaps the only one who can find where the Chozo have fled and end their legacy forever. But you are naught but a child. On your own, you have not managed to get very far."

The Dark Hunter's eyes glared up at her as she continued.

"I must see to it that the Chozo are wiped from every existence. In assisting me, you may grow your power considerably. We may both benefit from this."

After a moment, Dark Samus finally lifted herself off of the floor, floating just inches above the ground, still curled up and shaking. Still, there was a visible determination in her eyes as she stared into the tank.

"Fine. But if you ever freeze me again, I will eat you alive."

"Noted. Now, you must regain your strength. Epsilon, escort her to the phazon storage facility."

The space pirate who had remained nearby stepped over toward Dark Samus, hesitantly trying to lead her away, but finding her continuing to stare at Mother Brain as a mixture of emotions consumed her. Finally, she started to float away, following the pirate as he led her out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, don't worry, there's still some plot here, I just... have to first establish a bunch of relationships.
> 
> Metroid Continuity Notes  
> There's a lot going on here. So first, Space Pirates are never given individual names in any games. They're just... enemies. The only real named ship is the Frigate Orpheon.
> 
> In terms of the Metroid timeline, I'm thinking this is somewhere between Echoes and Corruption, except that DS has already gained significant influence over the pirates, so... closer to Corruption.
> 
> Mother Brain, on the other hand, has been a staple of Metroid since... well, the first one. She doesn't speak in any games, but she does speak in the manga. The floating eye drones are also from the manga.
> 
> Dark Samus is present in all three Metroid Prime games as Metroid Prime, and later as Dark Samus. Plenty of pirate logs in these games emphasize that metroids aren't pets, and describe using cold to pacify them (a reference to the ice beam being the easiest way to kill metroids in the 2D games). Nonetheless, in Echoes there's a metroid you can scan that "appears to have ingested several pet treats and space pirate rations."
> 
> Everything Mother Brain says about Tallon IV and the Chozo who lived there comes straight from Metroid Prime Chozo logs.
> 
> Story Group Continuity Notes  
> So this nine-year metroid roleplaying group I've been a part of has amassed a good bit of backstory that's starting to leak into this story.  
> \- I'm basing Mother Brain's character off of her character from the group, where she is written by someone else.  
> \- Rish'Ral was a vice admiral from the group who got killed in... something to do with Cathxra's ship.  
> \- Epsilon is the name of Mother Brain's long-time 'handler' from the group, though now he's... where is he?  
> \- Dark Samus's armorsuit and, in this case, zero suit suit are both based on my original designs.


End file.
